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01/29/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders meet in the Rockies Sunday when the Denver Nuggets entertain the Los Angeles Clippers at Pepsi Center.
The surprising Nuggets sport the second best record in the West and come into tonight's contest on a six-game run. Most recently, Rudy Fernandez poured in 23 points on Friday to lead four teammates in double-figures as Denver topped the Toronto Raptors, 96-81.
Danilo Gallinari, fresh off signing a four-year, $42 million dollar extension earlier in the week, dropped in 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Nene finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who improved to 7-2 at Pepsi Center. Andre Miller added 13 points and matched a season-high with 12 assists to go with six rebounds.
"I'm feeling good," Fernandez said. "I needed this game for my confidence. I'm very happy about the game."
The Nuggets earned their latest win without starting point guard Ty Lawson, who sat out with a sprained ankle. The North Carolina product has been listed as questionable for tonight's game but is expected to play.
The Clippers, meanwhile, lead the Pacific Division by one game over the Lakers and have alternated wins and losses over their past seven encounters. Most recently, Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading the Clips to a 98-91 victory over the Grizzlies at Staples Center on Thursday.
Chris Paul and Mo Williams each scored 18 points, while Caron Butler netted 16 to help Los Angeles rebounded from a loss to the rival Lakers on Wednesday. Paul also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Tonight's contest will also mark the return of guard Chauncey Billups to Denver. The veteran spent three full seasons and parts of two others over two stints with his hometown team and was traded to New York in the Carmelo Anthony deal last season before signing with the Clips this offseason.
"Chauncey was huge because I was a young point guard coming into the game," Lawson told the Nuggets' website. "He's been everywhere I want to be. He's been an All-Star, he won a championship. I learned everything from him. He was very important to my development. It's going to fun playing against him."
The Clips, who are just 1-4 on the road this season, have won two straight over Denver after dropping the previous four in the series.
<< Wolverines visit Buckeyes in Big Ten showdown
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Michigan Wolverines head to
the Value City Arena today to take on the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes
with the first place position in the Big Ten Conference standings at stake.
This will be
<< Tar Heels put lengthy home win streak on line vs. Yellow Jackets
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
will try to make it 31 in a row at home tonight when they host the Georgia
Tech Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the Smith
Center.
This w
<< Hoosiers host Hawkeyes in Big Ten battle
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 16th in the nation to close out the
week, the Indiana Hoosiers try to get back to .500 in Big Ten Conference play
this evening as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall in
Bloomington.
Si
<< Wolves aim to snap long skid vs. Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers will finish a two-day tour of the Midwest on
Sunday aiming for their 16th consecutive win over the much-improved Minnesota
Timberwolves.
The Wolves haven't beaten LA since March 6, 2007 but this is a much differ
De Jong's hat trick moves Twente into second >>
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luuk de Jong's hat trick propelled
Twente to a 4-1 win over Groningen on Sunday, moving the club past third-
place AZ Alkmaar on goal difference.
AZ's surprising 2-0 defeat to Roda on Saturday
Bledsoe back with Clippers >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe is back with the
team after being recalled from Bakersfield of the NBA Development League on
Sunday.
Bledsoe has not played for Los Angeles this season because of a right k
Time to take the Sixers' temperature >>
Philadelphia, PA (The Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back when I was covering the NFL,
Bill Parcells was a constant source of wisdom for me.
One of my favorite Parcells' quotes is his famous "You are what your record
says you are" rant.
If that's true
Monchengladbach topples Stuttgart to keep pace >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monchengladbach remained within one
point of the Bundesliga summit on Sunday after a 3-0 win at Stuttgart.
Mike Hanke's first-half goal gave the visitors a halftime lead before Marco
Reus and Igo
Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.
NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.
"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.
The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.
But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.
The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"
When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.
Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.
The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.
The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.
Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.
Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."
Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.
"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."
Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.
It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.
"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."
Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.
"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."
At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.
According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.
Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.
Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.
When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.
He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.
Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.
Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.
Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.
While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.
"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.
Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.
Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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