Hornets, Bower part ways
Basketball Betting Lines
07/13/2010 -
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets announced Tuesday
that the club and general manager Jeff Bower have mutually agreed to part
ways, effective immediately.
"We feel it is in the best interest for us and Jeff to part ways at this
time," said Hornets president Hugh Weber. "Our search for a new general
manager is already underway. We will target basketball minds that are highly
respected in the basketball circles and someone that will help in our pursuit
of building a championship team."
Bower was named head coach of the Hornets this past season on November 12
after the organization fired Byron Scott. He guided New Orleans to a
Southwest Division-worst 37-45 record in 2009-2010.
Following the season, Bower resigned to concentrate on his front office
duties. Monty Williams was named the new head coach last month.
In 14-plus seasons with the club, Bower held various scouting, coaching, and
general manager positions. He was GM from 2001-2003 and was re-appointed
general manager at the start of the 2005-06 season.
"I want to thank Jeff for all his service for our organization," said Hornets
owner George Shinn. "Gary Chouest and I have the necessary resources and will
continue to do what it takes this summer to make our team better. Under the
new leadership of Monty Williams, our team president Hugh Weber and our new
general manager we feel very positive about our future as an organization."
<< Wizards sign C Armstrong
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards on Tuesday signed
center Hilton Armstrong. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not
announced.
The 6-foot-11, 235-pounder has averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds
<< Mavs sign Dominique Jones
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks signed Dominique Jones on
Tuesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard was originally drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies
with the 25th over
<< Chicago's Masar named WPS Player of Week
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars forward Ella Masar was
named Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 13 on Tuesday
after scoring a pair of goals.
Masar scored the equalizer in a 1-1 tie against the
<< Stoke City signs veteran goalie Nash
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran goalkeeper Carlo Nash has
agreed a one-year deal to join Stoke City.
Nash, 36, has joined up the Potters at their pre-season training camp in
Austria after being released by Everton.
<< Bulls officially add Korver
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls announced Tuesday they have
signed sharpshooter Kyle Korver.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but several days ago the Chicago
Tribune reported it was a three-year, $15 million
Pittsburgh gets 2013 Frozen Four, Philly in 2014 >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh will host the 2013 men's ice
hockey Frozen Four, and the 2014 event will be held in Philadelphia.
The Consol Energy Center will be the site of the 2013 Frozen Four, and the
following year
Current Yankees remember Steinbrenner >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke about a time
in spring training when he and his wife were walking their dog, a white
bichon, on the manicured grass when he encountered owner George Steinbrenner.
He ex
Southern Nevada's Bryce Harper wins Golden Spikes Award >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Nevada slugger Bryce Harper, the top
overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, has
won the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur
basebal
Griffin ahead at Publinx in second stroke-play round >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John-Tyler Griffin of Georgia Tech holds a
one-shot lead after playing two rounds of the U.S. Amateur Public Links.
Griffin, who is from Wilson, North Carolina, about two hours west of
Greensboro
Rahal reunites with Newman/Haas Racing >>
Lincolnshire, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newman/Haas Racing announced Tuesday that
Graham Rahal will rejoin the team and pilot the No. 02 Dallara/Honda/Firestone
entry for six of the remaining series races.
Five of those races will see Rahal s
Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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