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02/12/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics play their final game before the All-Star break on Thursday when they resume a lengthy six-game road trip in North Texas against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics, who sport three All-Stars in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, opened the trek with an 89-77 win in the Big Easy on Wednesday. Pierce had a game-high 30 points in that one as Boston topped New Orleans, which continued to struggle even with the return of star guard Chris Paul.
Garnett added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who improved to 19-7 on the road for the season. Eddie House and Leon Powe added 12 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench for Boston, which has won two of three.
It wasn't all good news for the C's, however. Allen hyperextended his right thumb in the game. X-rays came back negative and the veteran said he would try to play against the Mavericks.
"Early in the game I was underneath, I think it was (Kendrick) Perkins. My hand got caught in his jersey," Allen said of his injury. "I popped off and I caught the ball and then I couldn't even catch the ball (later) because it kind of jammed all of the way down. As I was running I was trying to yank on it. I tried to hold it in as the game went on. When I tried to catch the ball, I couldn't hold on to the ball."
After the break, the Celtics will finish their trip with visits to Utah, Phoenix, Denver and the LA Clippers.
The Mavs, meanwhile, improved to 2-0 on a four-game residency on Tuesday when Josh Howard and Antoine Wright each scored 23 points to lead Dallas to an easy 118-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Dallas continued its dominance over Sacramento at home. The Mavs have won 10 straight over the Kings in north Texas.
Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points for the Mavs, who have won six of their last seven outings. Jason Kidd ended with 15 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists. Jose Juan Barea finished with 10 points, while Erick Dampier had nine points and 16 boards.
The Mavs were without star guard Jason Terry, who had successful surgery on his left hand Monday. Terry, the team's second-leading scorer (19.9 points a game), broke his left hand against Chicago over the weekend and is expected to be out three to six weeks.
Dallas, which is 17-7 at American Airlines Center, has won 10 of the last 11 at home and will finish the residency after the All-Star break against New Jersey.
Boston has won three straight over Dallas, including an easy 124-100 win in Beantown on January 25. The Mavs have topped the C's in 11 of their past 13 trips to Dallas, however.
<< Irish attempt to stop the bleeding against fifth-ranked Cardinals
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Louisville attempt to keep
pace in the Big East standings, as they travel to South Bend for a
conference showdown with Notre Dame.
Rick Pitino's Cardinals won their first eight league affair
<< Utah State puts nation's longest win streak on line against Idaho
Moscow, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked for the first time since the 2003-04
campaign when they were members of the Big West Conference, the Utah State
Aggies take their act on the road tonight to do battle with Western Athletic
Conference foe Ida
<< Zags and Gaels mix it up in West Coast Conference showdown
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will attempt to
remain unbeaten in West Coast Conference play as they take on the Saint Mary's
Gaels on the road this evening.
Gonzaga carried a nine-game win streak into Saturda
<< Top-25 foes meet in Tempe
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 matchup takes place in the desert this
evening, as the 11th-ranked UCLA Bruins come calling on the 18th-ranked
Arizona State Sun Devils in a key Pac-10 tilt from Wells Fargo Arena.
Ben Howland's troops t
Sens seek third straight win in test vs. Flyers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators will aim for their first three-game
winning streak of the season when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for
tonight's test at the Wachovia Center.
The Senators completed a home-and-home sweep of Buffal
Hurricanes, Panthers battle in Raleigh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams battling for playoff positions will meet
tonight in Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes invite the Florida Panthers for
a Southeast Division battle at RBC Center.
The Panthers are currently holding onto the
Lightning hope to get back in win column against Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to win for just the second
time in seven games when they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's
battle between struggling teams at St. Pete Times Forum.
The Lightning, who are 12th o
Canucks take high-scoring ways to Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will attempt to keep up their recent
high-scoring ways when the resurgent club visits the Phoenix Coyotes tonight
at Jobing.com Arena.
Vancouver comes in riding a three-game winning streak, the team's
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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