Malone, Pippen and Dream Team inducted into Hall of Fame

Basketball Betting Lines

08/13/2010 - Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen highlighted the 2010 class inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame Friday night.

Malone and Pippen were both members of the original "Dream Team," the 1992 U.S. Olympic squad that easily won a gold medal in Barcelona. That entire team, along with the 1960 U.S. men's Olympic squad, were also inducted.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss, former NBA players Dennis Johnson and Gus Johnson; former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper, famed high school coach Bob Hurley Sr., and Brazilian legend Maciel Ubiratan Pereira were other ones inducted Friday.

Malone was a two-time NBA MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist. In addition to the 1992 team, he also played on the 1996 team that won gold in Atlanta. Last year, his long-time Utah Jazz teammate, John Stockton, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

An All-NBA First-Team forward from 1989-99, Malone was named one of the league's 50 greatest players in 1996 and ranks second on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 36,928 points. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003-04.

"I want to thank the NBA this little snotty-nosed kid from Louisiana got an opportunity to play the game," Malone said. "I hope I did it the way my peers did it before me. I didn't do anything but try to play hard. I didn't have a motive. It wasn't about me, never was about me. It's not about me tonight. It's about a lot of other people."

Pippen, who was the first one inducted, had Hall of Famer and former Bulls teammate Michael Jordan standing nearby on stage as his presenter Friday night. Pippen was a seven-time NBA All-Star and a member of six championship teams with the Chicago Bulls. He also played in the 1996 Olympics, was a three-time All-NBA First-Team member and was voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team from 1992-99. After leaving the Bulls, Pippen played for Houston in 1998-99 and Portland from 1999-2003.

"For me, idolizing guys like Larry Bird and what he did in the game, has given me the opportunity to be here today," Pippen said.

The 1992 Olympic team dominated the Barcelona Games, winning all eight of its games by an average of 43.8 points. Coached by the late Hall of Famer Chuck Daly, the "Dream Team" was the first team made up primarily of NBA players who were eligible to compete in international basketball because of the change of FIBA rules in 1989. Eight players from the team -- Charles Barkley, Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Jordan, David Robinson and Stockton -- have already been enshrined into the Hall of Fame. Malone and Pippen made it 10.

"We want to say thank you to coach because he was the architect that put it all together," Johnson said of Daly, who passed away in May 2009. "He made sure we checked our ego at the door. He made sure we were just about playing with one another and playing for one common goal and that was to bring home the gold medal."

Before the "Dream Team," there was the 1960 Olympic squad that ran through the Rome Olympics with an 8-0 record on the way to a gold medal. That squad, with six members -- including Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West -- enshrined in the Hall, won their games by an average of 42.4 points.

Buss has owned the Lakers since 1979 and the team has captured 10 NBA titles under his stewardship. During his ownership, the Lakers have also won 17 Western Conference titles and have recorded the most wins and the highest overall winning percentage in the NBA.

Dennis Johnson, who died in 2007, earned nine straight NBA All-Defensive Team honors during his 14-year career with Seattle, Phoenix and Boston. He led the Sonics to the 1979 NBA title, earning Finals MVP honors, and helped the Celtics to NBA crowns 1984 and '86.

Gus Johnson, who died in 1987, was a five-time NBA All-Star in the late 1960s and early '70s, and won an ABA championship with Indiana in 1973. He led the Baltimore Bullets to five playoff appearances in nine seasons, including the 1971 NBA Finals. In 10 NBA seasons, he averaged 17.1 points and 12.7 rebounds.

Cooper won a pair of NCAA women's titles at Southern California and captured four WNBA crowns with the Houston Comets, earning the Finals MVP honor each time. She was twice the league's MVP and won an Olympic gold medal in 1988.

Hurley is a New Jersey high school coaching legend, having compiled more than 900 wins as head coach at St. Anthony's in Jersey City since 1972. He has led the school to 25 state parochial titles, and became only the third person elected exclusively for their service to high school basketball, joining Morgan Wootten and Bertha Teague.

Pereira, who died in 2002, is widely considered one of the greatest players in South American basketball history. A member of three Brazilian Olympic teams, Ubiratan led his countrymen to the bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Games.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

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