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01/29/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (The Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back when I was covering the NFL, Bill Parcells was a constant source of wisdom for me.
One of my favorite Parcells' quotes is his famous "You are what your record says you are" rant.
If that's true the 2011-12 Philadelphia 76ers are pretty darn good.
Open up the newspaper on Sunday and you will find Doug Collins' club with a 14-6 mark. That's good enough to lead the Atlantic Division and for third in the Eastern Conference behind powerhouses Chicago and Miami.
For the most part I buy Parcells' thinking but only when everyone has crossed the finish line. A sample size of 20 contests during a truncated 66-game schedule is certainly statistically significant but there can be anomalies.
For instance entering Saturday's game against Detroit, the Sixers had played the easiest schedule in all of the NBA, facing opponents with a winning percentage of just .436. That type of thing, however, tends to even out over the balance of a full season and sure enough Philadelphia's upcoming schedule is a bear. The Sixers will face teams with a combined winning percentage just south of .700 over their next seven games.
Of course, it's not the Sixers fault that the NBA's schedule maker lined up a bunch of patsies during the first 20 games of the season. You can only play who is put in front of you and Doug Collins has done a wonderful job getting his team ready.
Philadelphia has rarely played down to its competition. In fact the 76ers haven't just beaten the NBA's also-rans, it has destroyed them.
The Sixers are outscoring opponents by a league-high 11.7 points this season and all of their 10 home wins have come by 10 points or more. The team has won eight games by 20-plus points this season after having just seven in all of last season and the 76ers lead the NBA in fewest turnovers (11.6) and assist- turnover ratio (1.92-1).
"[You can only] play the teams in front of you," Collins said of watching his team dismantle the 4-17 Pistons 95-74. "We've got 10 home wins. Win at home and that's what we've got to try to keep doing. We know we've got some great teams coming in. We've just got to be ready to play."
The Sixers tough stretch begins with home games against the Magic, Bulls and Heat next week. Then comes a road game in Atlanta before Philadelphia returns home to play the Lakers, Spurs and Clippers after that. Those seven teams are almost guaranteed to play in the postseason and it's hard to imagine Philly blowing them out of the building.
So it's time to take the Sixers' temperature and see just how good this club really is.
Philadelphia constantly glosses over the one glaring weakness the team has, the lack of a true closer. Forget about Mariano Rivera, the Sixers don't even have a Brad Lidge and are 0-5 in games decided by seven points or less.
Collins' has piecemealed it at the end of tight affairs thus far. Sometimes it's Andre Iguodala and others it's Jrue Holiday or Lou Williams -- options that hardly strike fear in opponents.
Win one next week and everything is OK, win two and Philly fans should be ecstatic. Sweep Orlando, Chicago and Miami and we might be talking about a serious contender.
The following week features both LA teams and San Antonio, who all look imposing on paper but have been paper tigers on the road.
So at the end of this stretch you will be able to look at the Sixers' ledger and say for sure "They are what their record says they are."
<< De Jong's hat trick moves Twente into second
Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luuk de Jong's hat trick propelled
Twente to a 4-1 win over Groningen on Sunday, moving the club past third-
place AZ Alkmaar on goal difference.
AZ's surprising 2-0 defeat to Roda on Saturday
<< Falcons add former Fresno State coach Pat Hill
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Fresno State head coach Pat Hill
will join the Atlanta Falcons' staff as offensive line coach.
Hill spent the past 15 seasons guiding the Bulldogs and was fired in December
after the team strugg
<< Clippers and Nuggets square off in Denver
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders meet in the Rockies
Sunday when the Denver Nuggets entertain the Los Angeles Clippers at Pepsi
Center.
The surprising Nuggets sport the second best record in the West and come into
<< Irish to try their luck in Big East brawl with Huskies
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish conclude their
two-game road trip with a visit to the XL Center to square off with the 24th-
ranked Connecticut Huskies.
This will be the 27th meeting in the all-time series betwe
Irish escape Connecticut for third straight win >>
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't pretty, but Notre Dame extended its
winning streak to three with a 50-48 victory over 24th-ranked Connecticut at
the XL Center.
The Fighting Irish (14-8, 6-3 Big East) started their run by kn
Buckeyes down Wolverines to move atop Big Ten >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lenzelle Smith, Jr. finished with 17 points
and 12 rebounds, and No. 4 Ohio State pulled away for a 64-49 victory against
20th-ranked Michigan.
The teams had been tied atop the conference standings, but th
Chelsea's Ramires out up to four weeks >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea midfielder Ramires will be out for
up to four weeks after sustaining a knee injury in his team's 1-0 FA Cup win
over QPR on Saturday.
Scans after the match revealed that the Brazilian had suffere
Foot injury sidelines Podolski >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Relegation-threatened Cologne received
some bad news on Sunday as it was revealed that striker Lukas Podolski will be
out for the next three weeks because of a foot injury.
Podolski scored the opening
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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