Butler can claim share of Horizon League crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2009 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Butler Bulldogs will try to wrap up at least a share of the Horizon League title tonight, as they tangle with the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers at U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Bulldogs had a chance to claim at least a share of their third straight HL crown on Sunday, but were instead stunned, 71-67, by a Loyola-Chicago club that was riding a six-game losing skid. The loss snapped Butler's 16-game home winning streak and marked just its third loss in 25 games this season. Still, at 13-2 within the league, the Bulldogs hold a two-game lead over UW-Green Bay for the top spot, with just three games left in conference play.

As for UWM, it wrapped up an unsuccessful three-game road trip with a 70-68 setback at Youngstown State on Saturday. The team dropped all three outings on the trip, falling to 9-6 in conference play. Now at 14-11 overall, the Panthers return back home, where they have gone 7-1 against league foes.

With regard to the all-time series though, Butler holds a 27-9 lead over UWM and it has won the last five meetings.

Defense has been the name of the game for Butler once again, as the team is holding challengers to a mere 57.0 ppg and a dismal 37.8 percent shooting from the floor. Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward have made their mark at both sides of the floor and they are tied for the team-lead in scoring at 13.8 ppg, while combining for 13.4 rpg. Howard is also tops on the club with 41 blocks and Hayward leads the way with 41 steals. Shelvin Mack chips in with 12.2 ppg and he has been in charge of setting up Howard and Hayward, dishing off a team- high 3.6 apg. On Sunday, Howard erupted for a career-high 30 points, but it wasn't enough for Butler to overcome a 37-23 halftime deficit in a 71-67 loss to Loyola. Howard finished the game 11-of-13 from the floor and with nine boards, while Hayward posted 14 points and nine rebounds. Three-point shooting played a big part in the outcome, as Butler went just 6-of-26 compared to a 9- of-20 effort by Loyola.

Behind the trio of Tone Boyle, Avery Smith and James Eayrs, the Panthers have been able to generate 68.0 ppg this season. Boyle leads the charge with 14.8 ppg and he is shooting 37.8 percent from downtown. Smith follows with 11.8 ppg and 4.8 rpg, and Eayrs contributes 10.6 ppg and a team-high 5.6 rpg. On Saturday, Vytas Sulskis hit a jumper with 1.4 seconds left, sending UWM to a heart-breaking 70-68 loss at YSU. It was a tough ending for the Panthers, who kept things close by knocking down 11-of-25 shots from beyond the arc. Eayrs paced the team in defeat with a double-double of 19 points and 11 boards, while Ricky Franklin and Boyle checked in with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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