AP source: Hornets schedule meeting with Paul

Basketball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 -

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -A person familiar with the meeting says the Hornets have scheduled a face-to-face discussion with Chris Paul on Monday to talk about the team's plans for the future.

The star guard will sit down with new head coach Monty Williams, new general manager Dell Demps and team president Hugh Weber, the person told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not made plans to meet with Paul public.

Paul, who cannot opt out of his contract for two years, said recently that he likes New Orleans but will be unhappy playing for the Hornets if they fail to demonstrate a commitment to winning immediately.

The only move the Hornets have made this offseason is resigning reserve center Aaron Gray.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Casinobaccarat Basketball Betting News

<< Arroyo returns to Heat, will vie to be starter
MIAMI (AP) -Carlos Arroyo has finalized his deal to return to the Miami Heat.Arroyo appeared in 72 games and made 35 starts at point guard for Miami last season, then decided to return to the club after a brief stint as a free agent. He averaged 6.1

<< Pirates place C Doumit on DL, recall Jaramillo
PITTSBURGH (AP) -The Pirates placed catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list with a concussion and recalled Jason Jaramillo from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.Doumit, tied for second on the team in home runs with eight and RBIs with 32, l

<< Jankovic withdraws in Slovenia
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic withdrew in the third set of her match Thursday to provide a surprise conclusion to the second round at the Slovenia Open. Jankovic won the first set in her matchup with

<< MLB to test for HGH in minors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball announced Thursday that it will immediately implement a plan to test for human growth hormone in the minor leagues. MLB becomes the first United States professional sports league

<< Hudson, Braves blank Padres to take series
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Hudson tossed seven strong innings and Alex Gonzalez continued to swing a hot bat with a four-hit, two-RBI afternoon, as the Braves blanked San Diego, 8-0, to conclude a three-game set at Turner Field.

Blackhawks acquire Taffe from Florida for Reasoner >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks acquired forward Jeff Taffe from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Marty Reasoner. Taffe recorded two points in 21 regular season games for the Panthers last season. In

Phillies avoid sweep, snap Cardinals' eight-game win streak >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco's leadoff homer in the 11th inning provided the game-winning run, and the Philadelphia Phillies avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 2-0 victory. Polanco

Heat re-sign G Arroyo >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat re-signed guard Carlos Arroyo on Thursday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not released. Arroyo started 35 of the 72 games he appeared in with the Heat last season, averaging 6.1 point

Top seed Davydenko latest to fall in Hamburg >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko was the latest to fall in an upset-minded German Open Tennis Championships, as third- round play concluded Thursday. Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev dethroned the defending

Bentley sues Browns for career-ending staph infection >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley has sued the Browns, reportedly for fraud and negligent misrepresentation over a career-ending staph infection he suffered while with the clu

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.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.