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Lakers win 16th NBA title; Jackson could returnBasketball Betting Lines06/18/2010 - LOS ANGELES (AP) -With his record 11th NBA championship secured, Phil Jackson was evasive about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers. He's in the final year of his contract, with no word about a possible extension. He had said that if the Lakers won their second straight title, it would improve his chances of returning. He turns 65 in September. ``It does improve my chances,'' Jackson said after the Lakers' 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. ``That's a wonderful thing. That's as much as I'll talk about it.'' During the trophy presentation, Jackson said he would take some time to mull his future and decide in a week. Kobe Bryant publicly appealed for Jackson to come back while accepting his finals MVP award for the second consecutive year. ``He knows how bad I want him back. I've told him that,'' he said. ``I've been openly blunt about that and told him how much I want him back. Let's go for it again. Let's go for it again.'' --- CELEBRATING A TITLE: The Lakers will celebrate their 16th NBA title with a parade on Monday. The players and their families will board a customized float at Staples Center and wind their way two miles down South Figueroa Street toward the campus of Southern California, ending at the school's Galen Center. Players will interact with fans from the float that will be equipped with audio. Lakers officials said that will help mitigate anticipated pedestrian and traffic congestion, while also relieving security, sanitation and other public services that were required last year. In 2009, the privately funded parade and rally attended by more than 95,000 people was held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Although the Lakers said they're hosting the parade, it wasn't immediately clear who is footing the bill this year. --- ARTEST CONFESSES: When Ron Artest played for the Indiana Pacers for parts of five seasons, he admitted he didn't always give his best effort. Having won his first NBA title, Artest expressed regret for his subpar performances and attitude while with the Pacers. ``When I was younger, I bailed out on my Indiana team,'' he said Thursday night. ``I feel sometimes like a coward when I see those guys, because it's like, 'Man, I'm on the Lakers and I had a chance to win with you guys,' and I feel almost like a coward.'' Artest's colorful career has been filled with second chances. He was suspended for 73 games after charging into the stands and throwing punches when a fan threw beer on him during a game in Detroit in 2004. --- SAD FACES: As jubilant as the Lakers' locker room was, it was just the opposite in the Celtics' room. ``There were a lot of tears. A lot of tears,'' Ray Allen said. ``This is probably one of the hardest feelings that I've felt in my lifetime.'' Emotions churned for Glen Davis, who finished with six points and nine rebounds in nearly 21 minutes. ``I feel like I wanted to cry. I feel like I wanted to be mad,'' he said. ``I'm just trying to get in a positive mind and think it's going to help me as a player. I'm blessed. Most guys don't have the chance that I've had being able to play in the finals twice in three years. Hopefully next year we can be that same team and go back.'' --- FREE AGENT MUSINGS: With superstar free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hitting the market on July 1, there's a possibility that two of them could end up on the same team. ``I don't want to think about that,'' Kobe Bryant said. ``I don't want to think about playing against both of them at the same time. I want to enjoy this for a little bit.'' --- BRIEF BREAK: The longest possible NBA finals means the shortest possible turnaround until the draft. There will be only a week between the time David Stern hands out the Larry O'Brien trophy in Los Angeles and calls the name of the No. 1 pick, likely Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall, next Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. ``It's scary to know that the draft is close,'' Boston coach Doc Rivers said before Game 6. ``I hadn't thought about that at all.'' Rivers said Thursday he only found out the other day that Boston has the 19th pick. To help get everyone ready, NBA TV will run draft preview shows Saturday (Eastern Conference) and Sunday (West). Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank will join the studio team to break down each team's needs.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.
<< Rowdy revelers crowd streets after Lakers win
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Crowds of rowdy revelers poured into the streets around Staples Center after Game 7 of the NBA finals on Thursday night, rocking cars, setting bonfires and throwing rocks and bottles at officers.Nine people had been arrested for pu
<< Rowdy revelers surrounding cars after Lakers win
<< Bryant, Jackson champions again; Lakers down Boston to claim NBA title
<< LA police declare unlawful assembly
<< Artest comes up big for Lakers in Game 7 win
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Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit CardsMichael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football. As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL. The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago. Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996). But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side. Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show. Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East: Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1 Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2 New York Giants - 9 - 2 Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1). Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship. So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume. And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top. They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy. Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday. But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division. Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS. Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS. Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162. Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense? Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS. In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS. Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division. Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do. The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20. The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550. Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs. |
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