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11/05/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They lived up to the hype! Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce had a big opening weekend for the Celtics, who started a new season with two straight wins for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign.
There was no disputing that the Celtics looked like a powerhouse on paper, but the answer to whether they would deliver on that promise wouldn't be answered until the season tipped off. And, while it's a long season, things are looking very good in Beantown so far.
Opening night at TD Banknorth Garden was magical. Pierce netted 22 points, and Garnett finished with 22 and 20 rebounds to lead the Celtics over the Washington Wizards, 103-83. Allen scored 17 in his debut for Boston, which shot over 48 percent from the field.
After their impressive home victory, the Celtics knocked off the defending Atlantic Division champion Toronto Raptors, 98-95, in overtime at Air Canada Centre. The sharp-shooting Allen was deadly, as he was 11-for-16 from the floor, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, and finished with a game-high 33 points.
Garnett collected his second straight double-double, finishing with 23 points and 13 rebounds in the victory over Toronto. Pierce was just 4-for-17 from the field and ended with 13 points, but this is the new-look Celtics, who can now overcome a poor shooting night from their team captain.
Many have enjoyed watching the Celtics, who have banners hanging in the rafters from past championships and are one of the most storied franchises in professional sports, struggle the last two years. Boston won just 24 games last season, and finished with a dismal 33-49 record in 2005-06.
Things have changed very quickly.
Executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge has Celtics fans thinking championship because of his hard work this past offseason. Before acquiring Allen and Garnett in blockbuster trades, Ainge was on the hot seat, and many wondered out loud how much longer he would be calling the shots in Boston. Now, he is being viewed as a genius.
Allen, Garnett and Pierce are on a mission. None of the big three have ever played in the NBA Finals. All three have played in conference finals, but have never advanced. Can they do it together, carrying one of the country's most sports crazed-cities along for the ride?
Concern remains in regard to the rest of Boston's roster, which is made up of role players. Rajon Rondo is still learning how to play point guard in the NBA, while starting center Kendrick Perkins is being asked to bang down low, get rebounds and score garbage points when they come his way. Tony Allen is trying to make a full comeback from a knee injury which sidelined him for 49 games last season. Veterans Eddie House, James Posey, Scot Pollard and Brian Scalabrine need to be complementary pieces in the effort to get the Celtics back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987.
In spite of any perceived flaws, with an impressive home victory and a road win over the defending Atlantic Division champions, the rest of the league and NBA fans are beginning to realize that the Celtics are not just a team that looks good on paper.
KOBE SOAP OPERA COULD RUN FOR A WHILE
The Los Angeles Lakers won two of their first three games of the new season, despite rumors of a big trade involving their best player, Kobe Bryant. In fact, the Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Bryant averaged 31.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in LA's first three contests. What does this mean?
Bryant would like to compete for a championship now, and he is not going to let two wins, no matter who they were against, change his thinking. Trade rumors with the Bulls have cooled down, though there has been persistent talk that the Lakers may be looking into acquiring All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal from Indiana. The Lakers and Pacers were connected in a possible deal over the summer that would have landed O'Neal in LA. Would O'Neal make Kobe want to stay with the Lakers?
The trade talk will heat up again, and Kobe rumors will be the talk of the league. The Lakers are a team that needs to choose a direction. Do they want to win with Kobe or start fresh?
Stay tuned.
THIS ROOKIE CAN PLAY
To no one's surprise, Seattle rookie Kevin Durant has game. Durant averaged 23.0 points for the Supersonics, who nonetheless opened the campaign with three straight losses. The Texas product, who was the second overall pick in the draft, shot 43.8 percent from the field, including 36.8 percent from three-point range.
The SuperSonics, who could be playing in Oklahoma City in the near future if ownership moves the team out of Seattle, are in rebuilding mode. Durant is the cornerstone of the franchise, and despite the early losses, is the player the front office will build around.
<< Wigan axe Hutchings after only 12 games
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan announced on Monday that the
club has fired manager Chris Hutchings 12 games into the Premiership season
following the club's 2-0 loss to Chelsea on Saturday.
The firing comes just six mo
<< Red Bull New York
Announced that Sporting Director and head coach Bruce Arena has resigned from his position.
<< Yallop reportedly leaving Galaxy to coach San Jose
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - According to report that was first broke by
SI.com, Los Angles Galaxy coach Frank Yallop will be leaving that position to
take up the same position with the San Jose Earthquakes, Major League Soccer's
returni
<< Line of Scrimmage: Patriots - Unbeatable, or Just Unbeaten?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Did you think the New England Patriots
were done on Sunday?
Because I have to tell you, I had them dead to rights.
It wasn't just that the Colts had built a 20-10 lead after Peyton Manning dove
over the
Figo out with broken shin from Juve contest >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tests on Monday showed that Inter Milan's
Luis Figo suffered a fractured shin in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Juventus.
Figo sustained the injury in the second half of the contest after a hard
challenge f
Patriots/Bills selected for Sunday night >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has moved the November 18 game between
the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills to 8:15 p.m. (et) as part of
the flexible scheduling system.
In addition, the league also announced that Chica
Dodgers introduce Torre as manager >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Torre was formally introduced as
the new manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday morning, in ceremony at
Dodger Stadium.
Torre had been named Dodgers manager on Thursday, and he agreed t
Dayton unanimous No. 1 in Sports Network Mid-Major poll >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dayton received all 33 first-place votes
to retain the top spot in the Sportsbook Betting Lines FCS Mid-Major Poll announced
Monday.
The Flyers (9-1) thrashed Butler 61-0 on Saturday, a week after beat
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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