Odom Returning To Tinseltown

Despite the acrimonious nature of negotiations between power forward Lamar Odom and the Los Angeles Lakers, the two sides have come to terms on a deal.

ESPN is reporting that the deal will pay Odom upwards of $33 million over four years.

The Lakers are already the odds-on to win the Western Conference (-120) and the NBA championship (+225).

For more information check out Basketball Gambling at SPORTSBETTING.com.

Canada To Play Argentina For Bronze At world U-19 Basketball BettingTournament

Canada will play Argentina for bronze at the world under-19 women's basketball Betting championships after a lopsided 82-51 loss to the United States in Saturday's semifinals.

Kayla Alexander of Milton, Ont., scored 12 points to top the Canadians, who were coming off an upset win over Australia to earn their first appearance in the semifinals.

The two-time defending champion Americans broke the game open early with a 27-0 run, and the Canadians never recovered. Adding to the team's troubles, starting forward Natalie Achonwa of Guelph, Ont., left the game early on with a hip injury.

"I think we just didn't respond to that offensive quality," said Canadian coach Rich Chambers. "We still have a chance for a medal. So we hope we can take this experience to (Sunday)."

Nicole Larke of Calgary hit a three-pointer for the game's first points, but the Americans held Canada (4-4) off the scoreboard for the next 13 minutes to take a 27-3 lead, and led 50-18 at halftime.

The U.S. (7-1) had 19 steals.

Spain defeated Argentina 67-49 in Saturday's other semifinal. Canada will face the Argentines for bronze on Sunday.

For more check out Basketball Betting at SPORTSBETTING.COM.

Get Started With ncaa Basketball Betting

Basketball betting is easy. If you're a basketball fan, and were asked which of two teams in pretty much any NBA basketball game was going to win, you'd be able to come up with a pretty good answer, and back it up with some reasons about that teams previous form that season, their star players, any injuries, refereeing bias, whether or not it's a home game or an away game.. and probably a whole host of other factors.

You would probably be right on most counts, and you'd probably win some of your basketball bets. But, do you think you'd win 97% of the time, over hundreds of bets? In order to be able to achieve that high a success rate, there's a little extra secret sauce that needs to be taken into consideration when placing your bets on SPORTSBETTING.COM.

When getting started with basketball betting, and deciding which team to place a bet on, here's a couple of the most vital statistics which you need to take into account:

• Wins for each team. How many wins have they each recorded in the current season so far, and the last season. This gives a very strong indicator of how well the team is performing as a whole, and how well they're doing compared to teams of a similar ability in the same league.
  
• It's also worth looking at the win-rates of their opponents, especially the ones which they beat. If the team is trashing opponents who have a terrible win rate, it's not such a big deal, but if they defeated the undefeated, it says a lot about their current skills.

• ncaa basketball betting also requires that you take note of the performance of each basketball player on the team, and be aware of any unusual activity - are they injured? Have they been playing exceptionally well? Are they considerably better than their opposite number? Basically, here you're looking to see if the teams are well matched, or if every player on your team is outgunned by a better player on the other.

For More Check out ncaa basketball betting

Advanced Level Basketball Gambling

If you are reading this article, you are probably aware at this point in your wagering career that successful sports betting is less about the sport and more about the numbers involved. As we take a look at some tips for those who consider themselves advanced basketball bettors, keep that general rule in mind.

Forget the Big Guys

The most important rule for advanced basketball betting is to leave the majors behind. We are not just talking about the National Basketball Association here, either. You also want to scratch college teams in the top rankings off your list as well.

The reason for this is fairly simple. The NBA has a handful of teams with great programs and a lot of money, who tend to win game in and game out. The books make betting on these teams poor value. It's fun if you are just getting into basketball betting, but if you are serious it's time to leave the bigs behind.

You need to leave the best teams out of your handicapping when betting college basketball, too. Again, the schools with the best programs tend to be consistent year in and year out, reflected in their records and in the lines. The big money for advanced basketball betting is in the mid and low major conferences, where knowledge beats heart every time.

For More Check out Basketball Gambling at SPORTSBETTING.COM

Basketball-Hayden and Sparks cruise past Monarchs

Vanessa Hayden had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Sparks over the Sacramento Monarchs, 67-47, at Staples Center.

Tina Thompson had 12 points, Betty Lennox added 10 points and eight boards and Marie Ferdinand-Harris had 10 points for the Sparks, who snapped a four-game losing streak.



Nicole Powell had 13 points and was the only played in double-figures for the Monarchs, who have dropped their past three Basketball games.

The Sparks held a 22-point lead at the half and were never threatened for the rest of the game.

Basketball: Dramatic Finish As Giants Beat Saints

The Nelson Giants are through to the National Basketball League finals after a thrilling last second win over the Wellington Saints in Nelson.

Trailing 82-81 with seconds remaining, Tony Rampton scrambled in a two point shot from a rebound off a free throw to claim an 83-82 win.



The Saints appealed the result after claiming time was up before the final play was made but they have since withdrawn the protest after reviewing footage.

Giants guard Phill Jones says the game was a great advertisement for New Zealand basketball and it was an exciting fightback by his team which showed, yet again, that the game is never over until the buzzer goes .

The Waikato Pistons host the Christchurch Cougars in the second semi final in Te Awamutu tonight.

NBA Betting-2010 NBA Championship Futures

Here are some futures odds for next year’s NBA Betting championship and bookies are favoring a LeBron-Kobe matchup.

The L.A. Lakers are the odds-on from the Western Conference and overall at +250 and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the odds-on from the Eastern Conference at +300.

For more details about NBA Gambling check out NBA Gambling.

Orlando Feeling The Magic, Bettors Not

The Orlando Magic finally were able to win in the NBA finals with a 108-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in yesterday’s Game 3.

However, Orlando bettors didn’t profit as the Magic were 4-point faves and the game was a Push.

Game 4 goes tomorrow and the Magic are 2.5-point faves with the Total set at 202.

For more details check out Betting Lines.

NBA Final- Orlando upends LA in Game 3

Dwight Howard scored 21 points with 14 rebounds, as Orlando finally put the ball in the basket and watched Kobe Bryant miss several shots and commit a key turnover down the stretch, as the Magic beat the Lakers, 108-104, to take Game 3 of the NBA betting Finals.

Rafer Alston scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half, Rashard Lewis donated 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu recorded 18 points with seven assists and six rebounds.

The Magic shot an NBA Finals record 75 percent in the first half, and ended up making 62.5 percent of their shots for the entire 48 minutes.

Kobe Bryant scored 17 points in the final five-plus minutes of the first quarter then went hot and cold for the rest of the contest, finishing with 31 points and eight assists.

Pau Gasol added 23 points and Trevor Ariza contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Lakers now lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Thursday night at Amway Arena in Orlando.

NBA Betting:Now Entering Magic Kingdom

The Orlando Magic blew an opportunity to tie the NBA Betting Finals at 1-1 when Courtney Lee flubbed a last-second layup attempt.

Instead the Magic lost 101-96 in OT to the Los Angeles Lakers, went down 2-0 but covered at +6.5.

The scene shifts back to Orlando and the Magic have been solid at home going 6-3 ATS, including four-straight wins ATS.

The Magic are listed as 4-point favorites for tomorrow’s Game 3.

Sunday No Day Of Rest In NBA Final

The L.A. Lakers opened the NBA championship series, guns blazing, with a 100-75 win over the Orlando Magic in yesterday’s Game 1–the Lakers were favored by 6-points.

Going into Sunday’s Game 2, the Lakers are favored by 6.5-points and the Total is set at 202.

In the Lakers’ last 19 Sunday home games, they are 11-8 ATS and a perfect 19-0 SU and are -300 on the Money line.

For more details check out NBA basketball.

Bryant leads Lakers in rout of Magic in Game 1

Kobe Bryant is off to a good start in his quest for a post-Shaq championship, scoring a personal NBA Finals-high 40 points with eight rebounds and eight assists, as the Lakers took control before halftime and never let up in a 100-75 victory over Orlando in Game 1.

Pau Gasol added 16 points with eight rebounds, Lamar Odom notched a double- double with 11 points and 14 rebounds and Andrew Bynum donated nine points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 46.1 percent but more importantly held the Magic to 29.9 percent shooting.

The Lakers have not won a championship since 2002, the last of their three consecutive titles, but have won 14 in the storied franchise history. Bryant is in search of his first solo title -- meaning without the services of Shaquille O'Neal.

Los Angeles is off to a good start, as head coach Phil Jackson, aiming for his record 10th NBA championship as a coach, has a 43-0 mark in the postseason when his team wins the first game.

NBA Conference Finals Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are heading back to Florida. LeBron James, showing off every dimension of his unstoppable game, had 37 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, and Mo Williams added 24 points in a 112-102 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 on Thursday night.

The Magic will once again try and close out the series in Game 6 on Saturday night.

Orlando overcame a 22-point deficit on Thursday but missed their first opportunity to finish off the Cavaliers, who are trying to become just the ninth team since 1947 to rally and win a series after being down 3-1. Orlando has two more tries to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995.

The Cavs of course feel confident that if they can force Game 7 they will be in the driver's seat. Last night's win improved their home record to 44-3 this season.

NBA Conference Finals Odds: Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the NBA postseason as one of the favorites to win it all. So far the Cavs, winners of 66 regular-season games and their first eight straight in the playoffs, certainly haven't looked superior to the Orlando Magic.

They can't stop Dwight Howard inside. They can't contain Orlando's outside shooters. They're not giving LeBron James enough support. And they trail 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Orlando is relishing the underdog role in its first conference finals appearance since 1995. They won 99-89 on Sunday night in Game 3, which included a flagrant foul on Anthony Johnson for his elbow to Mo Williams' face in the second quarter. James has been doing his part.

The league's MVP is averaging 41.7 points in the series. But there have been extended periods when it's LeBron and only LeBron vs. the Magic. Can the 1.5-point underdog Cavs tie up the series?

For more details NBA basketball betting check out NBA odds.

Get your NBA conference finals odds in the Bodog Sportsbook now.

NBA Basketball Conference Finals Odds: LA Lakers at Denver Nuggets

Tonight in Game 4 the Nuggets will need everything they have to try and even the series with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In their half-dozen blowouts at the Pepsi Center in these playoffs, the Nuggets had turned their crowd into a major factor by using their transition game, pull-up 3s, kick-outs and rim-rattling dunks to turn tight games into runaways and their arena into a jet engine.

Against Los Angeles, however, the 3-pointers rimmed out all night, allowing the Lakers to stick around long enough for Kobe Bryant to win it for them in the fourth quarter.

The 4.5-point underdog Lakers are 11-4 ATS in the last 15 meetings and the underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these clubs.

For more details check out NBA Odds.

NBA East Final: TGIF

The Orlando Magic will play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final tonight listed as 8.5-point road ‘dogs with the Total set at 188.5.

In Orlando’s last 11 games against Cleveland on a Friday, it is 6-4-1 against the spread.

The Magic are listed at +230 to represent the East in the NBA championship final.

Houston Rockets Flying Low

The Houston Rockets were able to pull off a victory over the L.A. Lakers on Sunday 99-87 on Sunday, covering at +7.5 but will they be able to do it twice?

The Rockets head to the STAPLES Center listed at +11.5 with the Total set at 199 and in the last 20 when underdogs of more than 8-points, are 4-12 on the Over/Under and 10-5-1 ATS.

NBA Playoffs Odds: Magic vs. Cavaliers

After sitting around for the second time in these playoffs, the series-sweeping Cleveland Cavaliers, who broomed Detroit and Atlanta into early summer vacations, are expecting a much stiffer challenge from the Orlando Magic.

Orlando won both of their matchups at home against Cleveland during the regular season, including a 116-87 thrashing on April 3.

Cleveland has lost just once since that mauling by the Magic, and that setback came in overtime in the April 15 season finale against Philadelphia.

For the opener tonight, Stan Van Gundy will return rookie guard Courtney Lee to the starting lineup, replacing J.J. Redick.

The Magic, averaging 96.1 points in the postseason, shot 54 percent in the April 3 win over Cleveland, making 13 of 27 three-pointers.

In three games against Orlando this year, LeBron James averaged 30.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists.

The Cavs enter tonight's matchup as 9-point home favorites. Get your NBA play off odds.

Raw Is War Next Monday

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is known for weaving real life events into its storylines but you have to wonder how chairman Vince McMahon will work this latest drama in.

The Denver Nuggets are set to play Game 4 of the Western Conference against the visiting L.A. Lakers at the Pepsi Center on Monday, May 25, 2009, the same night as the WWE’s Monday Night Raw.

“McMahon blamed Kroenke [Sports, which owns the Pepsi Center] for not believing [the Nuggets] would be good enough to still be playing in mid-May,” reports the AP.

The Nuggets are 3-point faves in Prospective Game 4 betting.

Sports Bettors Like Lakers vs. Denver

The Lakers are getting the action when it comes to the overall series betting on their next round vs. Denver, and bettors are also expecting them to win and cover in their first game of the series, on May 19th.

L.A. is a 6.5-point favorite in that series opening game, with 73 percent of the early betting action coming in on the L.A. side.

The Lakers are a -265 favorite for the series, with a little over 75 percent of all series wagering on this matchup coming in on Kobe Bryant and his mates.

It all gets going on Tuesday. You can check out all the NBA playoff lines.