Shaq says move to Boston is all about winning

Basketball Betting Lines

08/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaquille O'Neal brought his effervescent smile to Boston on Tuesday and said he hopes to bring another title to the NBA's most-storied franchise.

Dressed in a suit with a bow tie, although not green like the Celtics' leprechaun mascot, O'Neal said in his introductory press conference that signing a two-year deal with Boston is all about winning.

"Very honored to be here," O'Neal said Tuesday. "The franchise has a rich tradition of winning. It wasn't a tough decision to make. I just wanted to be with a great team with a chance to win. I look forward to a great year."

The Celtics own the most NBA titles with 17 and came just short of another last year with a seven-game loss to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. O'Neal won three titles with Boston's arch-rivals from 2000-02 and added another with Miami in 2006, but failed in his most recent venture to "win a ring for The King" in Cleveland with LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Now, he'll try to stop James and the Heat's new Big Three by joining Boston's Big Three of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

"We match up well with anybody," O'Neal added. "We're just going to play, and hopefully at the end we'll be [in the hunt for a championship]."

O'Neal, 38, will provide frontcourt help for Boston, which had already added Jermaine O'Neal this offseason and will likely be without center Kendrick Perkins for the start of the 2010-11 campaign because of a knee injury he sustained in the playoffs.

"We have always been an in-to-out basketball team and we got away from that last year and we want to get back to that this year," noted Celtics head coach Doc Rivers. "There's a lot of areas where he helps our basketball team and size is one of them. We think we filled that void today."

O'Neal averaged 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games with the Cavaliers last year and will join his third team in three seasons. He played the 2008-09 campaign with Phoenix.

While he played 75 games for the Suns two years ago, the future Hall of Famer has been slowed by injuries for a majority of the past five seasons and his production has dropped.

"I think I will be a good fit here," O'Neal commented about his perceived role with the club. "I realize I'm much older now. In order to win, you have to sacrifice because at the end of the day it's all about winning."

O'Neal is a 15-time All-Star and was the NBA Finals MVP from 2000-02 when he led the Lakers to three consecutive titles. He was also the league's MVP in 2000.

Since being selected as the top overall pick in the 1992 draft by Orlando, O'Neal has averaged 24.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks in 1,170 career games with the Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns and Cavaliers.

He also has appeared in 214 career playoff games, averaging 24.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. O'Neal ranks fifth all-time with 28,255 career points, and is 14th all-time in total rebounds 12,921.

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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