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Bryant, Jackson: We Are All WitnessesBasketball Betting Lines06/18/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Jim Pollard, Derek Fisher and George Mikan. With his fifth title as a Laker, Bryant cemented his place atop the only list that matters in this franchise's history: winning championships. He's only tied with the other players, but you could argue that he had to do more to earn his than anyone else on the list. Phil Jackson: 11 championships. Five with the Lakers. I believe his place was cemented long ago, yet he continues to raise the bar higher for all future generations. What more is there to say? We are all witnesses. No, not to that other guy who might leave the only team and city he's ever known since birth in a couple weeks. Not to the guy whom the media has already anointed the greatest player alive. Not to the guy who lacks a killer instinct, who struggled mightily against these same Celtics with the same home-court advantage in the conference semis. No, we are all witnesses to an unheralded high school star who was selected 13th in the 1996 NBA Draft behind players such as Allen Iverson and Boston's Ray Allen. He was also picked behind players such as Todd Fuller and Vitaly Potapenko. Haven't heard of those last two guys? Hey, neither have I. We are all witnesses to the greatest winner this sport has seen since a man named Michael transcended the game in the late 80s and 90s. Nobody has won more since, unless you want to count Robert Horry, who rode Bryant's, Shaquille O'Neal's, Hakeem Olajuwon's and Tim Duncan's coattails en route to seven titles. Fisher, his teammate and top assassin, wouldn't have won any of his five if it weren't for Bryant. "(I) just got one more than Shaq," Bryant joked. "You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don't forget anything." Bryant was a little more humble when asked about being one away from Jordan's six titles. "I don't know. It's tough for me to really put that in any kind of context in terms of he and I goes because 90 percent of what I've learned and what I've figured out comes from him," Bryant conceded. "So this is not a situation where it's me and Shaq rivalry kind of thing. It's not the same thing. It's different. It's more of a -- it's a genuine love that I have for him and what he's done for me. It's completely different." Jackson, on the other hand, you could argue has had the benefit of coaching the best players around -- Bryant, O'Neal and Jordan. But Doug Collins coached Jordan, and he doesn't have any rings; Brian Hill coached O'Neal to the Finals with the Magic, but he didn't win; Del Harris was Bryant's first coach as a pro, but he didn't win, either. You get the point by now. The Zen Master has no peer in his profession -- he is the cream of the crop. He's been a head coach for 19 seasons, and he's achieved the ultimate goal in 11 of them. When he coaches a playoff series, it might as well be a best-of- one -- his teams have won the series 48 of 48 times when they win the opening game. Whatever that guy is saying, I want to hear it. Ever since His Airness stepped down from the throne, the public has been dying to place the crown atop another head. The problem is that the public wants that figure to be lovable, and Bryant just doesn't fit the bill. The public wants it to be LeBron James, but for some reason he refuses to accept it. Well, sorry public, you can't have your cake and eat it, too; Bryant is atop the throne, and someone like James is going to have an awfully tough time taking it away. What I don't understand is why people are so unwilling to admit Bryant's greatness. I mean, Jordan wasn't the nicest guy around, either. Both Jordan and Bryant have that unbelievable willingness to win, that unmatched ability to rip your heart out when you are least expecting it. Throughout Game 7, even though Bryant continued to struggle, you just knew deep down that he would come through. Down 13 in the middle of the third quarter, you knew that the Lakers weren't out of it. And they weren't. Bryant came back with 10 all- important points in the final 12 minutes, and the rest is history. "I just wanted it so bad. I wanted it so, so bad. On top of that, I was on 'E'," Bryant said of his Game 7 effort in which he went a subpar 6-for-24 from the field for 23 points. "Man, I was really, really tired. And the more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me...I was thankful that I was able to make one damn shot at the end of the game and made some free throws." As for Jackson, if this was his last hurrah, what a way to go out. The 64- year-old is widely expected to be asked to take a pay cut next season if he were to return, and he even admitted following the game that he didn't know what was going to happen. But if it is indeed the end in Hollywood, he leaves behind a legacy that may go unmatched for all of time. A 1,098-460 regular season record. A 224-98 playoff record. To reiterate: 11 championships. Primary coach of maybe the two greatest guards ever to play the game of basketball. And still he has that ounce of calmness after it all that just leaves you sitting in awe of a living legend. "No, it's not (more emotional than the other titles)," Jackson said. "There's no residual as far as beating Boston or anything like that...To have put in 114 games and coming out the way at the end, there's a certain sense of gratification, and that's what I have to believe in." Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, you've got to respect them. Put them atop the pedestal, give them the spot on the throne. Because what we're watching now -- we may never see again. Not even from "The King." So, even if Bryant is the biggest villain in your life, cherish these moments as a fan of basketball because...We are all witnesses.
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Online Sportsbook Football BettingWhy Sports Betting is so much fun?Betting SportsThe 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) Points (or Runs) ScoredAnother 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. Future BetsSports 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. 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 BetsStraight BetInvolves 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 ParlaysA 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 BettingAdventurous 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 TeasersSimilar 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. MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football betting sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction. MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. |
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