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Mbah a Moute headed to World Cup in offseasonBasketball Betting Lines05/05/2010 - MILWAUKEE (AP) -As the Milwaukee Bucks' defensive stopper, Luc Richard Mbah a Mwhen he spends so many of his nights trying to contain the other team's best player. That's about to change. Despite his disappointment after Milwaukee was ousted in the playoffs by Atlanta, the prospect of attending the World Cup in South Africa next month has Mbah a Moute smiling like a little boy and bragging about the Cameroon national team's chance to advance. ``I've never been, so this will be my first time,'' he said. ``You can see how excited I am.'' While many NBA players want to get as far away from the sports world as they can in the offseason - Bucks veteran Jerry Stackhouse said he planned to ``find some salt water'' as soon as possible - Mbah a Moute can't wait to root like a fan for his home country's team on African soil. ``Oh, man. Soccer is like religion in Africa,'' he said. ``So for them to have the World Cup on their own continent is something big, huge. People just are thrilled. Everybody's excited about it. And you have a lot of good African teams now, so everybody's excited about African teams to go far into the tournament. It'll be fun to be there in that atmosphere.'' Growing up in Cameroon, Mbah a Moute spent most of his childhood playing soccer before taking up basketball. Switching sports eventually brought him to the U.S., first at a high school in Florida, then to UCLA, and finally to the Bucks as a second-round pick in the 2008 draft. He has become one of the NBA's leading defensive specialists. But Mbah a Moute never lost his love for soccer. ``I played soccer until I was 14, before I started playing basketball,'' he said. ``I'm always a fan, that's my first love. I stay true to it, and I'm always going to love it.'' His Twitter page is filled with just as many thoughts about his favorite soccer team - Spanish league powerhouse Barcelona - as it is about basketball. In a recent interview with a local sports radio station, he talked about soccer instead of basketball. Now Mbah a Moute will spend June following Cameroon's Indomitable Lions while trying to catch a few other teams, perhaps the U.S., England and Brazil, along the way. And sounding every bit like a fan, Mbah a Moute insists Cameroon is going all the way. ``I'm thinking we're going to the final, so I might be there all the way until the final,'' he said, smiling. Cameroon features several players with high-profile European experience, including Samuel Eto'o, a star striker for Inter Milan, and steady midfielder Alex Song, who plays for Arsenal. Conventional wisdom says Ivory Coast or Ghana are the most likely African teams to make a long run in the World Cup this year, but Mbah a Moute believes Cameroon is being overlooked. ``Cameroon is ranked higher than all those other teams, Ivory Coast and Ghana and whoever else,'' he said. ``They have good teams, too. That's why everybody's pretty much excited about African teams and what they're going to do in the tournament.'' His trip to Africa won't be all soccer-related; he'll also host a youth basketball camp. Then he'll spend the rest of the summer working on his own game, trying to develop his offensive skills while continuing to embrace his role as a defensive specialist. ``One of my goals is hopefully to be Defensive Player of the Year one day in my career,'' he said. ``In order to do that, you've got to take on the best. That's what you've got to do. I've got to continue to work on my game, you've got to try to watch as much tape (as possible) to kind of know those guys, see what they're doing. Because guys develop, guys get better. Kevin Durant's not going to be the same player next year, so I've got to try to be a better player as well.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Estoril, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion Roger Federer was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the clay-court Estoril Open, a French Open tune-up. The top-seeded/world No. 1 superstar Federer cruised past G
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are not many people who transcend a sport without actually playing it, but Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell did just that. As I am sure you all aware of, Harwell died at the age of 92 on Tuesday, a year afte
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana Should be in: Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it? Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel. Work left to do: Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third. Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim. Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either. Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Football BettingNFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago. Thursday, August 21 NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37 NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007 In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points. Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season): * SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp. Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled. Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too. That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm. Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds. CHICAGO -3 (-120) ** The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond! Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds . |
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