Hornets gain ground, but Spurs clinch playoff spot after Suns lose

Basketball Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

West also pulled down 16 rebounds for New Orleans, which moved to within 2 1/2 games of the Spurs with 10 games remaining. The Hornets also moved into a sixth-place tie with the idle Jazz in the conference standings.

Chris Paul added 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, as the Hornets won for the fourth time in six games. Antonio Daniels contributed 10 points in the victory.

Tony Parker had a team-high 20 points to go with seven assists for San Antonio, which had a three-game win streak snapped and dropped to only a half- game ahead of Denver and Houston for second place in the West. Nonetheless, the Spurs clinched a playoff spot after Phoenix lost to lowly Sacramento on Sunday.

Tim Duncan provided 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili had 17 points in the defeat. Michael Finley added 12 points.

Trailing by five to start the fourth, the Spurs cut their deficit to 72-71 on a Drew Gooden layup with 8:36 left, but the Hornets pushed their lead back to five, 80-75, on a Paul jumper with five minutes remaining.

A Matt Bonner three made it a three-point game with 3:40 left, and, after several failed possessions by both teams, West's jumper with 38.9 seconds left made it 85-80 in favor of New Orleans.

Finley's three-point attempt was off on the ensuing possession, and Rasual Butler hit two free throws to put the hosts ahead by seven.

Just when the game seemed to be in control, Ginobili drained a three and was fouled on New Orleans' inbounds attempt, giving the ball back to San Antonio. Finley promptly connected on a three from the corner to make it 87-86 with 17.8 seconds to play.

Paul was fouled by Ginobili with 7.1 seconds on the clock in the act of shooting a three-pointer from about half-court. San Antonio was extremely unhappy with the shooting foul call, but Paul sank all three from the line to make it a four-point, two-possession game.

San Antonio only got one shot off before the buzzer, a missed three-pointer by Finley, giving New Orleans the victory.

The Spurs held a 25-19 lead after the first quarter, but the Hornets cut their deficit to 47-43 at halftime.

New Orleans quickly made up its deficit, forging ahead, 55-53, on a Julian Wright three-point play just past the seven-minute mark.

Back-to-back threes later in the third from Finley and Ginobili put the Spurs back in front by four, but a Sean Marks dunk gave the Hornets a 64-63 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to go. The hosts led, 68-63, heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

New Orleans leads the season series 2-1, and the teams will meet on April 15 in San Antonio to close out the season...Spurs center Fabricio Oberto missed his second straight game with a irregular heartbeat...New Orleans forward James Posey missed the game after being suspended for one contest following an altercation with a referee in the team's loss to New York on Friday...The Spurs fell to 21-11 in games decided by six or less points.

Wwwisfa Basketball Betting News

<< Wild fend off Oilers in battle of playoff-hopefuls
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored the game-winning goal and dished out an assist, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, in a battle between two playoff-hopeful teams at Rexall Place. Andrew Brunett

<< Ryan, Ducks keep Avalanche in freefall
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Ryan scored twice in Anaheim's 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Honda Center. Corey Perry and Drew Miller also tallied for the Ducks, who have won six of their last seven games. Jonas Hiller t

<< Hornets gain ground on Southwest Division-leading Spurs
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio

<< Canucks blank Blackhawks to tighten West playoff race
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin registered two goals and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 26 saves to notch his seventh shutout of the season, as the Vancouver Canucks stymied the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0, at United

<< Purdue downs Rutgers, moves on
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lakisha Freeman netted 18 points and the sixth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers defeated the seventh-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 67-61, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahoma City Regiona

Pair of Hockey East teams highlight 2009 Frozen Four >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University and the University of Vermont, both from Hockey East, highlight the final four schools in the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, set for April 9-11 at Verizon Center in Washing

Williams sisters continue to cruise, Safina ousted in Miami >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sisters Serena and Venus Williams won their matches in straight sets Sunday and advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5 million Sony Ericsson Open. Top-ranked Serena topped China's Peng Shuai, the 32n

Suns' playoff hopes take a hit in loss to lowly Kings >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Thompson was one of seven Kings in double figures, logging 21 points and eight rebounds as Sacramento dealt Phoenix's playoff chances a crushing blow in a 126-118 decision over the Suns. Spen

Oklahoma cruises past Pitt on way to Elite Eight >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshman Whitney Hand poured in a career- high 22 points to power the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners over the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers, 70-59, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahom

Van der Vaart denies Chelsea rumors >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Netherlands midfield ace Rafael van der Vaart has denied reports suggesting that he is close to agreeing to a move to Chelsea from Real Madrid. The 26-year-old has struggled to make his mark at th

You've come to the right place if you're searching for a great legal online sportsbook ! The sportsbooks featured on this page accept sports wagers for the NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, NCAA, Tennis, Soccer, Auto-Racing, Golf, Boxing, Horseracing, and many more. Using the information displayed on this page, you'll be able to make a wise-decision when selecting an online sportsbook and wagering service.

If you've never wagered at an online sportsbook before, you will find the process of starting to be straightforward. First, you choose a sportsbook from the list provided below. We feature the top sportsbooks on the web, with rankings based on company size, reputation, security, web site usability, and payment options. Once you've chosen the betting site that's right for you, the next step is online registration. You'll need to provide some basic information to create your account and receive a username and password. At this time, you'll also select a payment option. The books reviewed accept Visa, Mastercard, BankWire, and several others. Once you have an account created with the Sportsbook, you're ready to start wagering. You'll want to get familiar with their website and contact their Customer Service department if you have any questions.

Also, make sure you read the terms and conditions, which is usually located at the bottom of the homepage. The terms and conditions will outline all of the rules and regulations for the sportsbook. Once you are comfortable with the website and fully understand all of the rules, you are ready to start betting on your favorite sports teams or even on some hot current events!

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

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.