Bryant, Lakers fend off T'Wolves

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant notched a game-high 28 points and dished out seven assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers stave off a hungry Minnesota Timberwolves squad with a 111-108 triumph at the Target Center.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 25 points each, with Odom adding 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won four straight games and 11 of 12 overall. Los Angeles has also beaten the T'Wolves seven consecutive times and is a league- best 46-10 on the year.

Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes scored 20 points apiece for the T'Wolves, who have dropped two straight and seven of eight overall. Randy Foye and Mike Miller scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Craig Smith totaled 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

Telfair's layup brought the T'Wolves within 106-105 with 76 seconds left to play.

Then, following squandered possessions by both teams, Bryant missed a three from the left elbow but Odom grabbed the rebound. He quickly put back a layup to give LA a 108-105 advantage with 20.5 ticks remaining.

On Minnesota's ensuing possession Gomes had an open look from the top of the arc, but threw up an air ball. Bryant grabbed the board and was fouled with 14.1 seconds showing before hitting 1-of-2 for a four-point lead.

The T'Wolves came down and Foye nailed a three-pointer with 9.2 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Bryant was immediately fouled on LA's next inbounds pass and hit both shots for a 111-108.

Minnesota still had about seven seconds to get a shot off but Foye's bid was off the mark and the Lakers hung on for the victory.

"I think we had a lot of momentum down the stretch," Foye said. "They're a great team, a championship team, and they came in here today and took it to us. You have to give them credit."

The Lakers took a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and were on top 54-50 at the break.

The teams traded baskets and the lead through most of the third before the Lakers took a 76-70 advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left.

However, Smith's layup with 19.4 ticks remaining closed out a 10-2 T'Wolves run that gave the home team an 80-78 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

Foye's layup and Rodney Carney's dunk opened an 89-84 Minnesota lead with 8:38 left in the game.

"They were on fire as a team and they played really well," said Odom. "We didn't play well enough to stop them, but luckily we still won."

Josh Powell answered with a pair of jumpers and Odom hit two free throws to give the Lakers a brief 90-89 lead.

Up by one point moments later, Derek Fisher nailed a three with 1:44 left to make it 104-100.

Game Notes

The T'Wolves lost their sixth straight home game...LA shot 52.4 percent from the field and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe...Minnesota hit at a 50 percent clip from the floor and 73.7 percent at the foul line...The Lakers are 20-6 on the road this season...Minnesota is 8-19 as the host.

Casioonnet Basketball Betting News

<< West returns, lifts Cavs to drubbing of sinking Pistons
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delonte West, in his first game back since suffering a broken right wrist on January 15 at Chicago, scored a game-high 25 points and went 5-for-5 from three-point range to give the division-leading Cavalie

<< No. 9 Duke survives scare from eighth-ranked Wake Forest
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer each notched career-highs with 35 and 30 points, respectively, and No. 9 Duke survived a huge comeback effort from eighth-ranked Wake Forest to pick up a much-needed 101-91

<< California Dreamin': Kenseth wins second Cup race in a row
Fontana, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kenseth is perfect so far in the early 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. Kenseth, winner of last weekend's Daytona 500, picked up his second-consecutive victory by taking Sunday's Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Spee

<< Harding's big night leads Wild past Blackhawks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Harding turned in a superlative effort between the pipes, making a career-high 44 saves, and Peter Olvecky's first career goal was the game-winner, as Minnesota escaped with a 2-1 win over Chicago

<< Blake dishes out 14 first-quarter assists, Blazers destroy Clippers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaMarcus Aldridge tallied a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Blake tied an NBA record with 14 first- quarter assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to their eighth consecutive home wi

Kubina nets OT winner as Rangers fall to Leafs >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavel Kubina scored on the power play three minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in the opener of a home-and-home set at Madison Square Garden.

Leafs win in OT, keep Rangers on the skids >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Hagman scored on the power play three minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in the opener of a home-and-home set at Madison Square Garden.

No. 14 Arizona State holds off surging Wildcats >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden had 18 points and nine rebounds to help No. 14 Arizona State edge Pac-10 rival Arizona, 70-68, at Wells-Fargo Arena. Rihards Kuksiks donated 17 points for the Sun Devils (21-5, 10-4 Pac-10), w

Warriors' Ellis sidelined at least one week >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis will be sidelined 1-to-2 weeks because of stiffness in his surgically repaired left ankle, the team announced Sunday. Ellis, who missed the first 43 games of the sea

Report: Harrison asks for release from Colts >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a stunning move Sunday, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison has reportedly asked for his release from the Indianapolis Colts. A report on NFL.com said that after Harrison and the Colts

Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.

For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.