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Gilbert Arenas following in LeBron James footsteps by changing his number to 6

March 12th, 2010

It has been a very disappointing few years for Agent Zero of the Washington Wizards as he has either been riding the pine with injuries or causing trouble off the court, but one thing remains the same for Gilbert Arenas, he is getting paid! Not all that long ago, the Washington Wizards made a bold move by signing Gilbert Arenas to a huge seven year contract of $110 million dollars. Now that sounded like a deal that was worth to the team a few years back, but now it looks more like one of the biggest mistakes in franchise history as he has been nothing, but an injury prone, trouble making and seriously overpaid NBA superstar.

Just recently Arenas frequented the headlines due to his locker room altercation with teammate Javaris Crittenton when the two point guards drew their guns on each other after arguing over a gambling debt. Fortunately, the conflict was resolved before and gunfire started, like it would anyway, but the damage was already done as both players were ultimately charged and subsequently suspended for the rest of the NBA season.

Now that Gilbert Arenas has nothing to do, but think about how he put his NBA future and huge contract in jeopardy, the former All-Star point guard has decided to start fresh with a new number by changing his jersey number from number zero to number six.

Ironically enough, the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James also decided to make the change to number six only a few weeks ago as a tribute to hall of fame shooting guard and arguably the best player ever to play the game in Michael Jordan. The reason for the change was because King James believes that the number 23 should be permanently retired in honor of the six-time NBA champion.

Tags: basketball, NBA, sports betting
Posted in NBA, Online Sportsbooks, Sports

Brady Quinn next to be on the way out in Cleveland?

March 12th, 2010

Yesterday the Cleveland Browns decided to part ways with former Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson after he had his worst season with the Browns. When the NFL off-season came around for the Cleveland Browns, which was at about midseason as they were one of the worst teams in the league, there were a lot of rumors flying around on what was going to happen with the quarterback situation. Back in 2007, the Cleveland Browns looked like one of the most promising young NFL teams in the league as they had Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson behind center and up and coming wide receiver Braylon Edwards. As a result, the Brown won 10 games and looked like a team with a very bright future, but the success was short lived and the team slipped slowly back into mediocrity in 2008.

With Derek Anderson quickly turning into nothing more than a mediocre quarterback and no longer had the ability to get the job done for the Browns behind center after having a Pro Bowl season, Cleveland gave young quarterback Brady Quinn a shot as the starter.

Unfortunately, even though the Brady Quinn was thought to be the future face of the franchise, he just couldn’t live up to expectations and now seems to be on his way out of Cleveland.

The day before Derek Anderson was released from the Cleveland Browns, a trade was made bringing backup Seattle Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace to Cleveland. As a result, the Browns released Anderson to avoid paying a roster bonus and his large salary for next season.

The debate seemed to be over on which quarterback was getting the boot in Cleveland, at least until Wednesday when reports have surfaced stating that the Browns are actively shopping Brady Quinn.

Tags: Football, NFL, sports betting
Posted in NFL Football, Online Sportsbooks, Sports

Top NBA free agents available right now

March 3rd, 2010

Michael Finely (former team San Antonio Spurs): Of all the NBA free agents available in the second half of the regular season, the San Antonio Spurs recently released veteran guard Michael Finley is arguably most desirable of the lot as he could definitely help out a title contending team or a playoff team looking to fill the roster before playoff time. The one team that seems to be interested in Finley already is the Boston Celtics who always seem to be on the lookout for aging veterans who can help him off the bench like they did with veteran point guard Stephon Marbury last year.

Kenny Thomas (former team Sacramento Kings)

Over the years forward Kenny Thomas has been one of those players that always gives you a solid performance never get much recognition as he has one of the PJ Brown or Kurt Thomas type big men that aren’t flashy, but put up solid numbers.

After being released from the Sacramento Kings, Kenny Thomas is need him second half of the season.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas (former teams Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards)

Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off perhaps the biggest trade or the most beneficial trade before the NBA trade deadline on February 18 by sending center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Washington Wizards in exchange for versatile forward Antawn Jamison.

The trade raised a lot of eyebrows as it was ready obvious that the wizards would just buy out Big  Z’s $11.5 million dollar expiring contract and waive him, 30 days later, the Cavs will be able to sign him once again as they try it on an NBA title at season’s end.

So even though Big Z has gotten interest from teams like the Dallas Mavericks and couple of other teams, he will ultimately end up back in Cleveland.

Larry Hughes (former teams New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings)

in part as a Tracy McGrady trade which sent him to the New York Knicks, veteran point guard Larry Hughes was sent to the Sacramento Kings, but was ultimately bought out and waived.

Unfortunately, Hughes has an injury that will keep him out some time and stopped other teams from pursuing him, but as the season progresses I won’t be surprised to see him land somewhere.

Wally Szczerbiak (former team Cleveland Cavaliers)

This list seems to be filled with four Cleveland Cavaliers players and here’s one more in sharp shooting Wally Szczerbiak who is basically retired, but would consider coming back if it is where the Cavs.

Tags: basketball, NBA, sports betting
Posted in NBA, Online Sportsbooks, Sports

Boston Celtics barely get by the Kobe less defending champion Los Angeles Lakers

February 20th, 2010

All season long the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have had injury problems to some of their best players like Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and most notably Kobe Bryant, but despite being banged up throughout the season, the Lakers have been arguably the best all around team in the league and have a legitimate shot of repeating as NBA champs at season’s end. At the beginning of the NBA regular season, the Lakers had to play without Pau Gasol who had a nagging hamstring injury that kept him out the first 11 games of the season. Fortunately, the Lakers were able to go 8-3 in that 11 game span without Pau Gasol in the paint, but a big reason for the Lakers success in that time frame was due to Kobe Bryant altering his game by becoming more of a low post presence.

Even though Kobe had some great success in Pau’s absence, the more physical game took its toll on the reigning NBA Finals MVP as he started to accumulate a series of injuries like a broken finger, back spasms and most recently a sprained ankle.

Once Pau Gasol got back on the floor it was business as usual for the defending champs as they got out to 38-13 record with Kobe in the lineup, but the injuries became too much for the Lakers superstar and he had to take some much needed time off to heal from his ailing injuries.

Even though a broken finger sounds like something you just can’t play through, it didn’t seem all that difficult for Kobe to adjust to, but after spraining his ankle against the Denver Nuggets a few weeks back, he had to end his 235 consecutive games played by sitting out against the Portland Trailblazers. With Boston facing Denver on Sunday, check out the latest NBA odds at the best USA online sportsbooks.

Fortunately, the Lakers really stepped it up in Kobe’s absence and were able to win four straight games against the Portland Trailblazers (at the Rose Garden), San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz (in Utah) and the Golden State Warriors. The first three wins were impressive and the fourth was to be expected against the lowly Warriors, but the true test came on Thursday night against the Boston Celtics.

Coming into this game there were reports that Kobe would be ready to go, but as it got closer and closer to game time, Kobe was listed as doubtful and eventually out of this game against their arch rivals.

All game long against the Celtics the Lakers were hanging with the Atlantic division leaders, but when it came down to crutch time, Kobe time, in the fourth quarter and the Lakers looked confused on the last play of the game with 2.2 seconds remaining down by one point 87-86.

On the inbounds play, the basketball ended up in Derek Fisher’s hands, but he was only able to jack up an awkward shot that didn’t even hit iron and the Lakers lost their first of five games without Kobe Bryant. for the fastest and easiest way to make a wager on the NBA, check out the best American Express sportsbooks.

Tags: NBA, sports betting
Posted in NBA, Sports

NBA Eastern Conference teams looking to make a trade before the deadline

February 18th, 2010

The Western Conference had the first team to draw blood in the trade sweepstakes as we get closer and closer to the NBA trade deadline on February 18^th. The Dallas Mavericks made the deal with the Washington Wizards to bring Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to Texas while sending Josh Howard and Drew Gooden to the nation’s capital, but this trade looks like it was just the beginning of a very active trading session which will most likely be dominated by teams in the Eastern Conference. These trades may have a big impact on the upcoming USA online sportsbooks action.

Miami Heat

With a win on Tuesday night over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat were finally able to get back to .500, but they are nowhere near satisfied as they seem to have their sights set on upgrading their roster with the likes of Amare Stoudemire.

The Heat will have some stiff competition with the trade deadline looming as the Cleveland Cavaliers also their sights set on Stoudemire, but Dwyane Wade’s squad might have the advantage with Jermaine O’Neal’s expiring contract and youngster Michael Beasley.

Trade bait: Jermaine O’Neal, Michael Beasley

Cleveland Cavaliers

This season the Cleveland Cavaliers are in somewhat of a desperation mode as they try and do everything they can to convince LeBron James to stay in Cleveland for as long as possible. The only way they can see LeBron staying with the Cavs is if they can surround him with some better talent, namely Amare Stoudemire.

Along with wanting to bring in Stoudemire, the Cavs are also interested in Troy Murphy, Antawn Jamison, Corey Maggette and Andre Igoudala as a backup plan.

Trade bait: J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have been pretty banged up this season with injuries to everyone of the big three (Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce), but despite their injury problems they have played well this season and still have a legitimate shot of contending for a title in the Eastern Conference. Check out the latest NBA odds at the worlds best online sportsbooks.

Even though the Celtics are still looking good right now, they can’t avoid the trade rumors involving Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Ray Allen.

It is unlikely that Boston will make a deal, but if they do, it will almost certainly one or both of these players.

Trade bait: Ray Allen, Glen “Big Baby” Davis

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have had their fair share of problems this season and haven’t really been the promising young team we all saw take the Boston Celtics to the limit in the first round of the playoffs last season.

With that being said and the Bulls have been considering making a trade before the trade deadline in an effort to make a late push for the playoffs in the second half of the season and possibly clear some cap space of the upcoming free agent market this summer.

If the Bulls do make a deal, it will most likely include Tyrus Thomas as the center piece.

Trade bait: Tyrus Thomas, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, Brad Miller

Other teams in the East in trade market: Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers

Tags: NBA, sports betting
Posted in NBA, Sports

New Comers to the 2010 US National Basketball Team

February 10th, 2010

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder- No player on the new comer is more important or impactful than Kevin Durant who will almost certainly make the national team that much better!

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder- Westbrook has really started to come into his own this season and as a result was picked to play for the US.

Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls- The Bulls may still be struggling, but Rose just keeps getting better and he will definitely improve the US backcourt.

Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves- Jefferson has been struck with injuries, but he was apparently good enough to make the cut.

Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves- Love is a surprise in my opinion, but he is a promising young player.

Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies- Gay is a dynamic player who will only get better over time!

OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies- Along with his teammate, Mayo is a good pick for this team.

Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers- It is about time Odom got some love and this pick has to make him feel vindicated.

Andre Igoudala, Philadelphia 76ers- Another strange pick in my opinion, but the other AI is a good player nonetheless.

Kendrick Perkins, Boston Celtics- Perkins is a banger in the paint and will be a good player to help the frontcourt.

Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers- Granger came on strong last season and has struggled a bit this year, but apparently he is good enough to be on this list.

David Lee, New York Knicks- Lee is arguably one of the best big men in the NBA and he is the second best pick on this list next to Durant.

Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets- Lopez is a great player on a very bad team and I am glad the powers that be have rewarded him for his efforts.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers- The Blazers wouldn’t be a playoff team if it weren’t for Aldridge.

Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats- Every single season Wallace seems to get better and this season the Bobcats are reaping the benefits and so will the US squad.

Eric Gordon, Los Angeles Clippers- Another iffy pick. Gordon is a good young player, but not good to be on this team in my opinion.

Players that Declined

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics- It is a shame Rondo didn’t want to accept the invite as he would have been a huge addition to the backcourt.

Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers- Bynum declining the invite makes sense as he has struggled with injuries over the years and doesn’t want to jeopardize his NBA career.

Tags: basketball, NBA, Olympics, sports betting
Posted in NBA, Online Sportsbooks, Sports

Darren Collison stepping it up in Chris Paul’s absence

February 5th, 2010

This NBA season has been a rough one for the New Orleans Hornets as they have had an up and down year so far in the first half of the season. With 11 losses in the first 18 games of the season, the New Orleans Hornets looked like a promising young team that was going down the tubes. As a result of their very disappointing start to the year, the Hornets fired former head coach of the year in Byron Scott. The firing sent shock waves throughout the league as no one saw it coming despite the horrible start to the season.

Even though the firing of Scott seemed very premature, the Hornets were able to turn it around at the beginning of the post-Scott era in New Orleans.

The Hornets were able to get back on track without Byron Scott pacing the sideline, but then they received some more bad news as Chris Paul went down with an ankle injury which would keep him out seven games. Despite Paul being inactive with this ankle injury, the Hornets played better than expected with four wins in those seven games without their superstar point guard Chris Paul.

Considerable time has passed since Paul went down with that ankle injury that kept him out seven games earlier in the season, but now the New Orleans Hornets have a 26-23 record in arguably the most competitive division in the NBA in the Southwest where they have to compete with the likes of the Dallas Mavericks (31-18), San Antonio Spurs (28-19), Houston Rockets (26-22) and the Memphis Grizzlies (26-22).

The Hornets may be in last place in the Southwest division, but only five games divide the last place Hornets with the first place Mavericks which means anything can happen from now to the end of the season.

Even though the New Orleans Hornets aren’t out of the running in the division just yet, they suffered a major blow recently when they found out that Chris Paul would miss one to two months after finding out he had to undergo knee surgery.

Now the point guard position will be put in the hands of rookie Darren Collison out of UCLA.

At first, many people, including former head coach Byron Scott believed that the rookie wouldn’t be able to handle taking over for arguably the best point guard in the league, but after just a few games of filling in for the All-Star, Collison has looked much better than anyone expected with 41 assists in three games as the starter.

Tags: NBA, sports betting
Posted in NBA, Sports

Super Bowl Odds Released by Bodog Online Sportsbook

February 4th, 2010

If anyone is itching to get in on the action for this Sundays matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, there are some good options for the best online sportsbooks. Bodog, one of the premier online sportsbooks has the line at -5 Colts. If you think the Saints can hang within the 5 points, get in on the action at Bodog.

Tags: Football, NFL, sports betting
Posted in Gambling, NFL Football, Online Sportsbooks, Sports

Kurt Warner to possibly announce retirement on Friday

January 28th, 2010

There have been a lot of great NFL quarterbacks in the history of the league that have just stayed in the pros for far too long and as a result all their fans were able to witness their once favorite quarterback slowing, but surely become nothing more than an old man behind center. Occasionally in the NFL we have seen somewhat of fairy tale ending for great NFL quarterbacks like the Denver Broncos John Elway who ended his hall of fame NFL career with two straight Super Bowl titles. Elway couldn’t have ended his career with the Broncos any better and as a result many people believe he is up there in the “Best QB of All-Time” category. Then there other quarterbacks greats like Joe Montana, who is without a doubt one of the All-Time great QBs, but after his unbelievable career with the San Francisco 49ers, where he won four Super Bowl title and two NFL MVPs, Montana ended his hall of fame career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Joe Montana played pretty well for the Chiefs with another aging hall of famer in running back Marcus Allen, but fell short in the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills. The next season was somewhat of a disappointment as the Chiefs made the playoffs, but lost in the AFC Wildcard game to the Miami Dolphins.

Needless to say, Montana was unable to go out on top and retired from the game in a different uniform.

This season we have two future hall of fame quarterbacks on the verge of retirement in the Minnesota Vikings Brett Favre and the Arizona Cardinals Kurt Warner. Both of these legendary quarterbacks had exceptional seasons and were able to lead their teams into the playoffs once again, but weren’t able to reach the Super Bowl and now are contemplating retiring from the game.

There is always a lot of drama and waffling with Brett Favre which I am sure will go on all throughout the offseason, but Kurt Warner has already set a deadline for himself which is this Friday.

This Friday Kurt Warner will hold a press conference and announce his intentions for the upcoming season and whether or not he will finally call it quits.

Personally, I believe Warner can still play and if he came back for one last season the Arizona Cardinals will have good chance of a competing for a Super Bowl, but I can’t remember a time when a player called a press conference to announce he was coming back.

Tags: NFL, sports betting
Posted in Current Events, NFL Football, Sports

Brett Favre out, Donovan McNabb in?

January 27th, 2010

Sunday’s NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings was sloppy to say the least with fumble after fumble after fumble, but despite all the turnovers and sloppy play, these two teams battled all the way into overtime where the Saints came out on a top and will advance to the Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts in Miami next month. Now the Brett Favre saga will begin once again with the questions on whether he will hang them up or strap them on for one more season. Personally, I believe Favre should come back for one more season with the Minnesota Vikings because he still has it and the Vikings could get to the Super Bowl with one more go around, but reports seem to have Favre once again leaning towards retirement, especially after getting pretty roughed against the Saints where he was noticeably hurt and limped off the field at one point.

Well, as of right now we can consider Brett Favre retired. So with that being said who will come in and fill some his enormous shoes and be able to repeat his performance next season.

So far there has only been one name at come up and that is the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

This season was a somewhat successful one for Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles as they played very well in the regular season, but fell short in their last two games against the Dallas Cowboys. Since those losses to the Cowboys there has been a lot of speculation what will happen at the quarterback position as the Eagles have three quarterbacks that could easily be starters somewhere else in the NFL next season.

Michael Vick will pretty much control his own fate as he has the option to stay in Philly or try and become a starter like he was for the Atlanta Falcons. A few teams have already been mentioned in the hunt for Vick like the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills and the Carolina Panthers. Even though Vick seems to have suitors, he did say he would love to come back to the Eagles next season even if it is as the backup once again.

Then there is youngster Kevin Kolb who played well in his limited time this season and showed he could very well be a starter in this league. With these three quarterbacks the Eagles would be wise to trade one of them and the Philly faithful seem to be leaning towards getting rid of McNabb and the Minnesota Vikings would be a good fit for the veteran quarterback.

Tags: Football, NFL, sports betting
Posted in NFL Football, Online Sportsbooks, Sports