Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/10/2007 -
SEATTLE (AP) -Rashard Lewis was back on the court in Seattle.
He shot six consecutive free throws that never hit the rim - just smoothly feathered through the net off his right hand that was wrapped in a padded protective glove.
He was also back playing around with teammates, trying to distract Luke Ridnour from making his free throws at the end of practice Friday. First, Lewis tried jumping and grabbing both sides of the rim. Once he returned to the floor, he turned and shamelessly shook his rear end toward the point guard as he shot.
``Rashard's a great player and we really missed him. It's great to have him back,'' Sonics coach Bob Hill said, one day before Seattle's second-leading scorer is to start against Sacramento in his first game since he frayed a tendon in his hand on Dec. 20.
An ``anxious'' Lewis reported that the shooting rhythm that made him an All-Star in 2005 and a 21.9 points-per-game scorer this season before his 22-game absence is not back yet. And he said he likely won't be back to ``full throttle'' until after next week's All-Star break.
But he said the hand felt much better Friday than it did in his first practice on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
``I can still feel it. ... It is still sore,'' Lewis said of his injured knuckle.
That means he may be wearing the black, fingerless leather glove for a while.
``If it gets slapped, I'm going to feel it.''
Oh, it may get slapped. Immediately. Lewis' first two games back are against the Kings, including on Sunday in Sacramento. Rugged Ron Artest will likely be Lewis' primary defender inside. Artest isn't exactly known to take it easy on anyone - especially the wounded.
``I don't want to say he's dirty,'' Lewis said. ``Maybe he was earlier in his career. But now I think he's straightened his head out. To me, he's just playing basketball ... trying to get the bad name off his back and not be labeled as one of those bad guys in the league.''
So now that Lewis is back about two weeks earlier than the team initially estimated, will that bring the last-place Sonics (18-31) back to where they'd thought they'd be before Lewis' injury?
Seattle was 8-14 without Lewis, and just 3-10 against the top 11 teams in the Western Conference. That includes Golden State, New Orleans and Minnesota - the three teams within 2 games of Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers for the final two playoff spots in the conference. Seattle is still holding out hope of grabbing one of those spots.
For all their injuries and a team-record, 15-game road losing streak that ended just Wednesday at Indiana, the Sonics entered the weekend somehow just 6 1/2 games behind the Nuggets and Clippers. The Sonics haven't had Lewis and Allen in the lineup together since Dec. 2.
``Even just his presence being on the floor is definitely going to make it easier on us,'' Allen said, noting most of Lewis' early contributions will likely come inside until Lewis gets used to shooting while wearing the glove. ``It's going to take a lot of pressure off me scoring.''
Presumably opponents won't be able to double- and triple-team Allen with the game on the line, at least not as much as they have been over the last six weeks. As Hill has said, ``everyone in the gym and watching on TV'' has known where Seattle's plays were going to go at the end of close games.
Hill said he has new plays ready for Lewis' return. The coach also said he will likely use a smaller lineup more with the 6-10 Lewis back, meaning perhaps more of Ridnour and fellow guard Earl Watson on the floor with Allen and Lewis.
``That's worked well for us this year. I've really liked it,'' Hill said of ``going small.''
That means a possible slowing of the recent, rapid emergence of center Nick Collison as a scorer. Collison has averaged 17 points per game and had eight double-doubles over the last month. His averages for his three-year Seattle career, most of it with Lewis healthy, are 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
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.
<< Blackhawks-Oilers, Sums
Chicago 0 0 1-1Edmonton 1 0 1-2First Period-1, Edmonton, Torres 11 (Bergeron, Horcoff), 4:29. Penalties-Hejda, Edm (hooking), 7:58; Stortini, Edm, major (fighting), 13:37; Lapointe, Chi, major (fighting), 13:37; Hejda, Edm (interference), 17:
<< Wizards suspend Thomas for 2 games
WASHINGTON (AP) -The Washington Wizards suspended center Etan Thomas for two games Friday because of conduct detrimental to the team.Thomas will games Sunday against Portland and Wednesday at Philadelphia. He will not practice with the team during t
<< Lightning-Rangers, Sums
Tampa Bay 0 0 0-0N.Y. Rangers 2 2 1-5First Period-1, N.Y. Rangers, Orr 1 (Tyutin, Betts), 4:28. 2, N.Y. Rangers, Hossa 4 (Rozsival, Straka), 11:32. Penalty-Shanahan, NYR (hooking), 13:24.Second Period-3, N.Y. Rangers, Hollweg 1 (Jagr), 8:28
<< Nash misses second game with sore shoulder
PHOENIX (AP) -All-Star Steve Nash sat out the Suns' game against Atlanta because of a sore right shoulder.It was the second game in a row that the league's two-time defending MVP was sidelined. He missed Tuesday's overtime victory at Portland and sa
West Virginia 70, No. 2 UCLA 65 >>
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -Alex Ruoff scored 18 points and West Virginia withstood two rallies by No. 2 UCLA in the second half to beat the Bruins 70-65 on Saturday.For the second straight season, UCLA (21-3, 10-2 Pac-10) couldn't recover from a double
Dodgers win arbitration case against Beimel >>
PHOENIX (AP) -The Los Angeles Dodgers won their arbitration case against reliever Joe Beimel on Saturday, setting his salary at $912,500 this year.Beimel asked for a raise from $425,000 to $1.25 million at Friday's hearing. The Dodgers countered at
Fight with Haywood at practice led to Thomas' suspension >>
WASHINGTON (AP) -The running feud between Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood escalated with another exchange of blows, leading to a two-game suspension for Thomas and leaving the Washington Wizards thin along the frontcourt.Thomas was suspended for thr
Bradley 100, Drake 85 >>
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -Daniel Ruffin scored 19 points Saturday to leading Bradley to a 100-85 win over Drake.Five players joined Ruffin in double figures for Bradley (17-10, 8-7 Missouri Valley). Zach Andrews scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Wi
MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting