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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wnorthernlight 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

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.