05/14/2008 - (Basketball Betting) - The Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz meet for Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series tonight at the Staples Center.
This best-of-seven series is tied at 2-2. Game 6 is scheduled for Friday in Utah. The home team has won all four games in this set.
In Game 4, Deron Williams poured in 29 points and dished out 14 assists as the fourth-seeded Jazz survived a late surge and downed the top-seeded Lakers, 123-115, in overtime at EnergySolutions Arena.
Mehmet Okur scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Utah, and Andrei Kirilenko added 15 points. Carlos Boozer ended with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Kyle Korver scored 14 points off the bench in the victory.
NBA MVP Kobe Bryant finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, but was hampered by a back injury and struggled from the field, shooting 13- for-33, including 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Lamar Odom had 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Pau Gasol added 23 points and 10 boards for the Lakers. Veteran Derek Fisher scored 15 points off the bench, including 10 straight in the fourth quarter to lead the LA comeback.
Bryant has been dealing with an injured lower back, which he hurt during Game 4. He has been undergoing round-the-clock treatment on his back since the injury.
The Lakers have dropped four straight Game 5s in the playoffs. They are 4-0 at home in this year's postseason.
Utah has lost two straight Game 5s in the postseason. The Jazz are 2-3 on the road in this year's playoffs.
This is the fourth time the Lakers and Jazz have met in the playoffs. Los Angeles defeated the Jazz in seven games in the 1988 West semis. Utah knocked out the Lakers in five, 4-1, in the 1997 semifinals and swept LA in the 1998 conference finals.
The Lakers, who swept the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets, 4-0, in round one, have been victorious in four of their last five trips to the semifinals. They fell in six games, 4-2, to the Spurs in the 2003 Western Conference semis.
In the regular season, Los Angeles won its first Pacific Division crown since the 2003-04 campaign, when Shaquille O'Neal was trying to lead the Lakers to their fourth title in five years.
Utah, which won its second straight Northwest Division crown during the regular season, has made it to the West semis for the second straight year. Last year, the Jazz knocked off the Golden State Warriors, 4-1, in this round and fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 4-1, in the conference finals. The Jazz are 6-6 all-time in the semifinals.
The Jazz defeated Tracy McGrady and the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets, 4-2, for the second straight year in the opening round of the playoffs.
<< Nedved secures Juve future
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran midfielder Pavel Nedved has pledged
his future to Juventus by signing a new one-year contract with the Turin club.
The 35-year-old former Czech Republic international had been linked with a
move
<< Newspaper apologizes for Spygate error
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Herald apologized to its readers and
the New England Patriots for shoddy reporting during the NFL's "Spygate"
affair.
On February 2, the newspaper reported that a member of the New Engl
<< Owings leads D'Backs vs. Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona's Micah Owings will try to get back in the win
column tonight, when the Diamondbacks play the second test of a three-game
series with the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field.
Owings won his first four starts
<< Rangers go for home sweep of Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers try and complete a three-game sweep of
the Seattle Mariners this afternoon when the AL West rivals conclude their set
at Rangers Ballpark.
The Rangers made it seven wins in their last eight tries on Tu
Red Wings try to clinch Western Conference crown in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will try to punch their
ticket to the Stanley Cup finals tonight, when they go for a four-game sweep
of the Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals at American Airlines
Center in Dall
AFL honors Dolezel, Rachal and Huebner >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Desperados QB CLINT DOLEZEL,
Tampa Bay Storm DB TRACO RACHAL and Georgia Force FB/LB MATT
HUEBNER have been named Offensive Player, ADT Defensive Player,
and Ironman of the Week, respectively, for Week 11
Celtics, Cavaliers resume best-of-seven series in Beantown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers battle in the
pivotal Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series tonight at TD
Banknorth Garden.
This best-of-seven series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is scheduled for Friday at
Agent says Laudrup will likely leave Getafe >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Getafe coach Michael Laudrup is almost
certain the quit the club this summer, according to his agent, Bayram Tutumlu.
The Dane is wanted by a number of clubs across Europe, with Tutumlu
regi
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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