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02/12/2007 -
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Portland coach Nate McMillan chuckled when he walked into Charlotte's practice facility last week and saw no chairs or bleachers, items banned by Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff.
``He hasn't changed,'' said McMillan, who played under Bickerstaff in Seattle during the 1980s. ``We had to stand up and be ready to practice. I was looking at our guys and they were trying to put their sneakers on standing up.''
The no-nonsense Bickerstaff has done things his own way since become the expansion team's top basketball man three years ago. But his power was reduced last spring when Michael Jordan became part owner with the final say on all basketball decisions.
Now, with the Bobcats struggling through an inconsistent season and an important summer of free agency ahead, Bickerstaff's future with the organization is uncertain.
While Bickerstaff has declined to talk about next season, several players back him, including rookie Adam Morrison.
``He's the guy who drafted me and believed in me,'' said Morrison, the No. 3 pick last year. ``I think people have to give him a chance, because we're really young. It's tough to count on so many young guys, night in and night out. He's doing a good job with what he's got.''
It's hard to gauge where Bickerstaff stands with Jordan, because Jordan hasn't granted an interview in Charlotte since last June. He has intentionally remained out of sight, even telling arena staff not to show him on the video board when he attends home games.
Jordan's contact with the players has also been limited.
``I've talked to him a little bit when he's been around, but other than that, nothing,'' Morrison said Monday.
While Bickerstaff no longer has the final say on personnel decisions, the moves he has made have allowed the Bobcats to assemble a decent group of young talent.
He pulled off a draft-day trade that allowed Charlotte to select Emeka Okafor. Charlotte has also drafted Raymond Felton and Morrison, and got leading scorer Gerald Wallace in the expansion draft.
Bickerstaff has resisted the temptation to try to win right away, hoarding draft picks and preserving salary cap space while preparing for this summer, when Charlotte will have the most flexibility as any team during free-agency.
``The young kids, they've got to get a chance to play, it's that simple,'' Bickerstaff said.
But Bickerstaff has sounded increasingly frustrated of late. He's criticized his young players for not spending enough time studying the scouting report. He's questioned the team's discipline, and was furious last Friday when a mental breakdown left Brandon Roy open for a tying 3-pointer in the closing second of regulation, helping McMillan's Trail Blazers to an overtime win.
``You have to deal with the players. You have to be fair, but you've got to have expectations for all of them,'' Bickerstaff said. ``You've got to coach for bad times, and that's why you have to treat everyone fairly.''
Bickerstaff was calmer on Monday, suggesting the team's recent rash of injuries is partly responsible for its current four-game losing streak.
``It's an ongoing process where you have to make changes,'' Bickerstaff said. ``Unfortunately, this is where we are.''
Bickerstaff's plan before Jordan arrived was to coach the team during the lean, early years, then hire a coach and become the full-time general manager when they became more competitive.
With Jordan now calling the shots, Bickerstaff may not get that chance. But it hasn't changed his style, which took 30 years in the NBA to mold. That means no chairs in the practice gym.
``Once you come to work, you don't sit down,'' Bickerstaff said. ``That's how I think you learn how to fight through fatigue. If you can't fight through fatigue in practice, you're going to go down on us when it's game time.''
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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It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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