Brand, Sixers get first road win in Toronto

Basketball Betting Lines

11/12/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elton Brand scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers downed Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors 106-96.

Andre Iguodala had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, which snapped a three-game skid. Andre Miller also scored 18 points, and Willie Green contributed 17 points and nine assists off the bench for the Sixers, who avenged an 11-point loss at home to the Raptors on October 29.

Bosh scored 30 points and raked in 12 rebounds, but the Raptors still suffered their second straight loss. Jermaine O'Neal had 19 points and 11 boards for Toronto, which has dropped four of five after winning three straight to start the season, including the season-opener in Philadelphia.

Toronto battled back from early 17-point deficit, pulling to within striking distance of the Sixers several times, but were never able to overtake the visitors. After a Bosh jumper cut the deficit to 85-80 early in the fourth quarter, a quick 8-0 Sixers push, capped by a driving Iguodala dunk, put Philadelphia up 93-80 with 6:52 to play.

Toronto never threatened again, as the Sixers picked up their first road win of the season in their fourth try.

The Raptors opened cold from beyond the arc, and the Sixers took advantage with two 8-0 runs, the second pushing Philadelphia ahead 22-11 with 2:44 left in the quarter. Philadelphia led 26-13 after the first quarter.

Philadelphia kept the pace up early in the second quarter, pushing its lead to 17 points after rookie forward Mareese Speights drained two free throws and nailed a jumper on consecutive possessions for a 37-20 Sixers advantage with 8:05 left.

The Raptors came roaring back, though, all but erasing the deficit with a 25-9 push. Toronto closed that run with 14-2 spurt, powered by eight points from Bosh. Bosh scored the last six points of the push, including a tip shot with 1:20 to play in the half that sliced the Sixers lead to 46-45.

Philadelphia led 51-45 at the half.

Toronto came as close as four points in the third quarter, pulling within 64-60 on two O'Neal free throws with 5:39 left in the frame, but Brand and Miller each made jumpers to restore an eight-point edge. The Sixers took a 78-71 lead into the final 12 minutes.

Game Notes

Raptors guard Jose Calderon left in the third quarter with a hamstring cramp...Bosh picked up his fourth double-double of the season, while O'Neal tallied his second...Speights scored 12 points and had seven boards in 20 minutes. He saw more time because starting center Samuel Dalembert was limited to 20 minutes because of foul trouble.

Ganblingregistry Basketball Betting News

<< Zherdev carries Rangers over Devils
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Zherdev scored twice and Lauri Korpikoski picked up his first NHL goal as the New York Rangers humbled the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, at the Prudential Center. Michal Rozsival and Chris Drury a

<< Caps crush 'Canes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Capitals line of Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom combined for 12 points in Washington's 5-1 domination of the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center. Semin had two markers an

<< Thunder without Durant, Wilcox vs. Magic
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant and Chris Wilcox sat out Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic. Durant missed the game due to a sore left ankle and is listed as day-to-day. The second-ye

<< Mariners make four roster moves
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners outrighted pitchers Jared Wells and Joe Woerman to the minor leagues on Wednesday and had pitcher Jake Woods decline his outright assignment and become a free agent. In addition, t

<< Caps G Johnson leaves with injury
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson was forced to leave Wednesday's matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Johnson went down to his stomach and used t

Doan, Coyotes rip Blue Jackets >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Doan scored twice and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 31 shots as Phoenix earned a 5-2 victory over Columbus. Steven Reinprecht, Kevin Porter and Martin Hanzal also scored for the Coyotes, who won their sea

Sabres solve Blues, snap three streaks >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Tallinder, Adam Mair and Tim Connolly each had a goal and an assist in Buffalo's 4-3 victory over St. Louis, effectively ending the Sabres' 12-game winless streak against the Blues. Ryan Mille

Ford drives Pacers past Nets >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - T.J. Ford scored 18 points, doled out nine assists and hauled in seven rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers in a 98-87 victory over the New Jersey Nets from the IZOD Center. Marquis Daniels and

Anderson, Panthers shut down Lightning >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gregory Campbell tallied twice and Craig Anderson turned aside 24 shots for his first shutout of the season as Florida silenced Tampa Bay, 4-0, at BankAtlantic Center. Bryan McCabe and Nathan Horton al

The Truth hurts: Celtics hand Hawks first loss of season >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce hit a fade-away jumper with 0.5 seconds to play and scored 34 points, including 23 in the second half, leading the Boston Celtics to a 103-102 victory over the Hawks, handing Atlanta its first l

Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.

For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.