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02/07/2007 -
BOSTON (AP) -Sure, Doc Rivers heard whispers about John Amaechi's sexuality when they were both in Orlando. But here's what the former Magic coach knew for sure: Amaechi was a good scorer, a decent rebounder, a little bit of a defensive liability and ``a fantastic kid.''
``He's better than a good kid; he's a fantastic kid,'' Rivers said Wednesday night after learning that Amaechi acknowledged he is gay. ``John Amaechi, when I was coaching him, was a great kid. He did as much charity work as anybody in our city, and he's still doing it. That's what I wish we focused on.
``Unfortunately, we're talking about his sexual orientation, which I couldn't care a flying flip about.''
Rivers was a rookie head coach when he took over the Magic in 1999-00, a team that finished .500 despite starting four undrafted players. Amaechi was one of them, and Rivers was chosen as the NBA's coach of the year.
``He was great for me, he was great for the team,'' Rivers said Wednesday night before Boston's game against the Miami Heat. ``That was one of the stronger locker rooms I ever had.''
Although teammates may have suspected Amaechi is gay, no one treated him any differently because of it, Rivers said. As for the coach: ``It was none of my business.''
``It was brought up to me and you look and say, 'So what? Can he rebound? Can he shoot? Can he defend?''' Rivers said before joking about Amaechi's defensive shortcomings. ``But with everything else, he was great.''
Amaechi is one of a handful of athletes from one of the major U.S. team sports to publicly acknowledge their homosexuality - all of them after their retirement. Rivers acknowledged that an active player would probably face harassment from teammates or fans, an assumption that probably keeps many from coming out.
``It was difficult for people to watch Jackie Robinson, and they got used to it. They started watching him and started cheering for him,'' Rivers said. ``It would be difficult for fans if the guy couldn't play. That's what's difficult to me, nothing else should matter.''
But it's inside the locker room that the gay athlete could face his toughest challenge. Although players are used to being jeered by fans, the prospect of being rejected by his teammates is at least as likely to be the reason that no active player in a men's professional team sport has come out.
Rivers said that teammates tease each other for all kinds of reasons, and it's likely sexual preference would soon become one of them.
``We're all insensitive at times,'' he said. ``There's no taboo subject in the locker room. I think if he would have come out, they would have got on him jokingly. They would have held no punches and they would have made fun of him just like they make fun of guys here.
``But that's the locker room, and that's not going to change. And I actually think that when guys do come out, when that day happens, it will make it easier. I can't wait until it's not an issue.''
Rivers said that if Amaechi had come to him, player to coach, ready to go public, he would have encouraged him to do so.
``I think when you're brave enough to make that statement, or any statement, and you're ready to come out about anything, then you should do it,'' Rivers said. ``You have to understand there will be a backlash. At least there's going to be a discussion, but I would tell them to do it. I would tell him to keep scoring, keep rebounding and do it.
``I don't know if we'll see that anytime soon. But it wouldn't bother me at all.''
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.
<< In battle of Bowdens, Dad has last laugh
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -A year ago, it was Clemson and coach Tommy Bowden getting the last laugh with tailback C.J. Spiller's surprise selection of the Tigers over powers such as Florida and Florida State.This time, Bowden's father, Bobby, did the chuck
<< Wild's Rolston still sick, might not play against Panthers
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -Leading scorer Brian Rolston didn't practice Wednesday with Minnesota because of a lingering stomach virus that kept him out of the Wild's game at Dallas the night before.Rolston, whose 25 goals and 46 points are tops on the te
<< Jermaine O'Neal out with bruised knee
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal was deactivated for Wednesday night's game against Seattle because of swelling in his left knee.O'Neal, Indiana's leading scorer and rebounder, banged his knee in a game at Memphis last week.
<< Skrastins set to break Horton's durability mark
DENVER (AP) -Karlis Skrastins, on the verge of breaking Tim Horton's NHL record for durability by a defenseman, has never shied away from pucks or pain.A life of bumps, bruises and breaks attest to the 32-year-old's all-out style. He's constantly dr
Gervin to help San Antonio try to defend title in All-Star event >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Hall of Famer George Gervin will join the San Antonio team that will try to defend its shooting stars title on All-Star Saturday night on Feb. 17.The three teams that will challenge San Antonio were announced Wednesday by the NBA. Ger
Pirates, Castillo agree to 1-year contract >>
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Second baseman Jose Castillo and the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided arbitration Wednesday, agreeing to a $1.9 million, one-year contract.Castillo filed for $2.2 million and the Pirates offered $1.8 million. He can earn an additional $20
Senators-Sabres, Sums >>
Ottawa 0 1 1-2Buffalo 0 2 1-3First Period-None. Penalties-Biron, Buf, served by Briere (delay of game), 9:21; Phillips, Ott (hooking), 18:10.Second Period-1, Buffalo, Vanek 27, 11:21. 2, Ottawa, McAmmond 6 (Corvo, Eaves), 12:02. 3, Buffalo, Afinoge
Flyers-Islanders, Sums >>
Philadelphia 0 0 0-0N.Y. Islanders 1 1 0-2First Period-1, N.Y. Islanders, Kozlov 19 (Poti, Tambellini), 8:13. Penalties-Witt, NYI (roughing), 11:01; Forsberg, Phi (roughing), 11:01.Second Period-2, N.Y. Islanders, Satan 18 (Hilbert, Sillinger),
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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