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New uniform suits WallaceBasketball Betting Lines10/02/2006 - DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) -Ben Wallace took a quick glance at his new uniform and smiled. The new threads fit perfectly and the colors worked, too. ``It's a little different, but I will say I look good in red and white,'' he said. The Chicago Bulls think so, too. Wallace is in. Tyson Chandler is out. And the revised Bulls hope to build on last season's playoff appearance, their second straight. Expectations haven't been this high since the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen era. And the centerpiece of the optimism on the eve of the Bulls' first practice was Wallace, the low-post defender they signed away from Detroit for four years and $60 million to complement a young nucleus of guards and forwards. ``He's the type of big guy you love to have,'' guard Kirk Hinrich said Monday. ``He's a no-nonsense type guy. He gets down and dirty. He's hard-nosed. I think he fits perfectly with the mentality of this team.'' Wallace was fourth in the NBA last season in rebounding (11.3), ninth in blocks (2.2) and 10th in steals (1.78) - the only player among the top 10 in all three categories - while averaging 7.3 points. There are still questions, though. He just turned 32, and his tenure in Detroit had a rough ending, with reports that he did not get along with coach Flip Saunders and refused to enter a game. Still, he was a driving force as Detroit reached four straight Eastern Conference finals and won the NBA championship in 2004. He has never averaged in double figures since entering the league in 1996, and has shot just under 42 percent from the free throw line over his career. ``I've heard the criticisms of him,'' Bulls general manager John Paxson said. ``He's getting older, those types of things. I have a funny feeling that's going to motivate Ben Wallace in a big way for us.'' The positive vibe was a stark contrast to the atmosphere at the Bulls' practice facility one year earlier. A seething Paxson entered the gym that day, announced he had traded center Eddy Curry to New York and walked away about three minutes later without taking questions or saying who else was involved in the deal. The Bulls had insisted Curry submit to a DNA test to determine if he's susceptible to a potentially fatal heart condition before re-signing the restricted free agent. Curry, who had missed the final 13 games of the 2004-05 regular season and the playoffs, said it violated his privacy and refused. So there was a standoff. And, ultimately, a trade. The Bulls sent Curry, who had averaged 16.1 points, and Antonio Davis to New York for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney, Jermaine Jackson and, most importantly, a bundle of draft picks. That jarring move left the Bulls in a haze for much of the season, but they won 12 of the final 14 regular-season games to finish 41-41 and reach the playoffs. They threatened eventual champion Miami, before losing in six games. And a trade that seemed at first like a major blow for the Bulls turned out to be a windfall. They wound up with the No. 2 selection in this year's draft and the right to flip-flop first-rounders with New York in 2007 if they finish with a better record. In May, the Bulls used the Knicks' pick to select forward LaMarcus Aldridge, whom they immediately packaged to Portland for No. 4 pick Tyrus Thomas and defensive-minded forward Viktor Khryapa. The 6-foot-9 Thomas, who helped LSU reach the Final Four, was considered the best athlete in the draft. The Bulls acquired forward P.J. Brown from New Orleans for Chandler, who did not mesh with coach Scott Skiles, a week before signing Wallace in July. Although they held opponents to a league-low 42.6 percent from the field last season, the Bulls had a knack for collecting fouls. Adding Brown and Wallace should help, but they still lack a consistent scoring threat down low. Paxson shrugged that off, then came to Wallace's defense. ``There are a lot of different ways to play,'' he said. ``I've heard the remarks of teams playing four-on-five with Ben in there. I don't buy it. I think Ben takes offense to that, too, especially when he hears someone he played for say that about him. I'm not worried about the scoring issue. You win a lot of games by defending and rebounding, and we have the potential to be a very good defensive team as long as we don't foul like we did last year.'' 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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NEW YORK (AP) -Tim McClelland, Randy Marsh, John Hirschbeck and Gerry Davis will serve as the umpire crew chiefs for the first round of the playoffs.McClelland will work the series between the Detroit Tigers and New York that starts Tuesday night at
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Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs 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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