Bluegrass State rivals square off at Freedom Hall

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/04/2009 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Non-conference rivals will collide at Freedom Hall this afternoon, as the 18th-ranked Louisville Cardinals battle the Kentucky Wildcats.

Expect Kentucky to play with a wealth of confidence this afternoon, as the team has won six straight games. The Wildcats, who are 11-3 overall, are coming off an 84-52 decision over Central Michigan on Monday. They have only played one true road game to date, and that tilt resulted in a 19-point loss to top-ranked North Carolina on November 18th.

As for Louisville, it has lost two of its last three games after a blistering 7-1 start to the season. On Wednesday, the Cardinals suffered a heartbreaking defeat against UNLV in a 56-55 final. The other losses came against Western Kentucky and Minnesota, surprising considering the lofty expectations of Rick Pitino's team entering this season.

Kentucky owns a 26-13 series lead over Louisville, including wins in three of the last four meetings with the Cardinals.

Kentucky relies heavily on the talents of two players, Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. Meeks, an explosive guard, is netting 24.1 ppg on the strength of his 43.2 percent shooting from three-point range. In a victory over Appalachian State in mid-December, Meeks poured in 46 points, proof of his enormous ability. As for Patterson, a power forward, he provides 19.3 ppg and 9.4 rpg. The big man is shooting a staggering 72.2 percent from the field and has blocked 30 shots. In the 32-point romp over Central Michigan last time out, Meeks posted 23 points on the strength of a 5-of-8 showing from behind the arc. As for Patterson, he finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Michael Porter and Josh Harrellson pitched in 12 points apiece for the Wildcats, who connected on 53.6 percent of their field goal attempts and racked up 22 assists. Defensively, they limited the overmatched Chippewas to 31 percent shooting from the floor.

The best player for Louisville so far this season has been freshman forward Samardo Samuels, who is averaging 14.7 ppg on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor. More than just a scorer, Samuels is pulling down 7.0 rpg as well. Earl Clark provides 13.1 ppg and 8.6 rpg for the Cardinals, who are getting 11.6 ppg and 8.8 rpg from Terrence Williams. One of the most versatile players in the Big East Conference, Williams is also dishing out 5.0 apg and tops the roster with 26 steals. Louisville is averaging 76.2 ppg this season while holding opponents to 59.0 ppg on 37.4 percent shooting from the field. In the one-point loss to UNLV, Preston Knowles paced the Cardinals with 11 points, while Samuels and Clark both scored 10 points. Contributing significantly to the loss was the fact that Louisville shot just 29.6 percent from the field.

Casinoureal NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Bruins go Duck hunting in Eugene >>
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Duke opens ACC slate at home against Virginia Tech >>
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Raptors finish homestand vs. Magic >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors conclude a three-game homestand Sunday by welcoming the Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic to Air Canada Centre. The Raptors improved to 1-1 on the residency Friday when Andrea Bargnani finished

Lakers aim for 15th straight home win vs. Blazers >>
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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your basketball sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.