Warriors' sale could mean tough sell for NBA in upcoming CBA fight
Basketball Betting Lines
07/16/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is an adage in politics - never
let a serious crisis go to waste.
In these tough economic times, rank and file workers across America have
never been more suspicious of management.
Most agree that the world's largest economy is not running on all cylinders
right now and some even argue that it's come off the tracks completely, but
most middle class employees can't help but get the feeling that management is
using a bad situation to take advantage of them by scaling back on benefits
and salary.
That kind of suspicion is about the only thing NBA players have in common with
the middle class.
Since the league instituted a salary cap in 1984, it has grown from $3.6
million per team to a staggering a $57.7 million last season. In turn, player
salaries have exploded, climbing from an average of $330,000 in '84 to $5.2
million by 2007-08. The numbers have stagnated a bit since then, but the
average NBA salary has stayed above the $5 million mark.
That growth had the NBA crying poverty at every turn when the economy went
south. Before the 2008-09 season, commissioner David Stern slashed 9 percent
of his office staff in New York and played hardball with his officials,
gaining significant reductions in the referees' retirement packages after
threatening a lockout.
During the NBA's annual owners meeting in Las Vegas, buried among all the
hoopla over the "Summer of LeBron," Stern claimed his league lost a combined
$370 million thanks to the recession, a figure NBA Players Association
executive director Billy Hunter balked at.
With the current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its
players set to end on June 30, 2011, Hunter thinks Stern is using fuzzy
math in an attempt to control salaries and make other changes to the CBA.
"David's numbers are unfounded," Hunter told ESPN. "It's a severe
exaggeration."
Stern cited slowing ticket sales in some markets and a hit in both television
and merchandising revenue to back his claim, while Hunter pointed to the
league's overall increase in ticket sales and a much-increased television
audience for the NBA playoffs to bolster his case.
Recent empirical evidence supports Hunter and the players.
A doom-and-gloom prediction by the NBA that predicted the salary cap would
decrease from $57.7 million to $50.4 million in 2010 was way off and the
league announced that the cap would actually increase next season to $58
million, a development that actually upset a number of the league's owners,
who were taken by surprise.
"As soon as we get it, we spend it," Stern said of the league's still solid
revenue streams. "That is the current system. We try to compete. Our fans
love that. So we'd like to keep the league as competitive as possible, give
all of our teams the opportunity to tell their fans they have a chance to win,
and have some profit in it for the owners."
Those same owners are continuing to spend at a breakneck pace despite the sour
economy and Stern's moribund words, giving even pedestrian players like Chris
Duhon and Hakim Warrick big paydays.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, not exactly the gold standard in the
league, are set to sell for a record price. The Warriors. who were a
disappointing 26-56 last season, are a lot closer to the Los Angeles Clippers
than the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics, but that didn't stop an
investment group led by Joseph Lacob to pony up a record price $450 million
for the franchise, exceeding the $401 million Robert Sarver needed to buy the
Phoenix Suns in 2004.
Both sides are distrustful of each other and are hunkering down and preparing
for the worst work stoppage since the 1998-99 lockout.
"I'm preparing for a lockout right now, and I haven't seen anything to change
that notion," Hunter said.
Don't expect Stern, a master negotiator, to blink and let this crisis go to
waste.
"I don't know how many collective bargainings I've participated in over the
last too many years," the commissioner said. "We've thus far only had one
failure to reach a deal in 1998. And many of the others have started out
poorly, had predictions of doom and gloom, et cetera. You just keep on
plugging. I think we've got a long way to go, but we have a lot of time to get
there. That's the optimism
"Judging from (the players') proposal, which basically embraces the current
system, we haven't closed any gap yet. But we're going to be resilient and
prepared to spend the time necessary to see whether there's a deal to be had
here, and we're going to do it for as long as possible."
<< Celtic adds Murphy from Sunderland
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic have completed the signing of
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The 27-year-old joins fellow Bhoys newcomers Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and
Cha Du-Ri in Neil Lenn
<< NBA summer leagues shed more light on the draft
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This year's rookie crop got its first taste of
the NBA in the recently completed Orlando Summer League and the one in Las
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will see in th
<< Leafs' Kadri in for some heavy lifting
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nothing says pressure like holding the
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But regardless of how you look at it - fortunately or unfortunately - that is
the reality for Toronto Maple Le
<< Blue Jays' Anthopoulos building on youth
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your pockets aren't deep and you live
in the American League East, you need to do things a little differently. With
a new general manager in town, it seems as though the Toronto Blue Jays have
finally com
<< Orioles recall INF Bell
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles recalled infielder Josh
Bell from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, a move that coincided with the club
placing catcher Matt Wieters on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a
right h
Podolski claims he is committed to Cologne >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cologne's Germany international forward
Lukas Podolski has vowed to stay with his current club this summer, despite
links with a possible big-money move abroad.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine Worl
NL East: With playoffs in sight, Braves make a switch at short >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears as though the Atlanta Braves got tired of
waiting for Yunel Escobar.
The Braves dealt the 27-year-old shortstop to the Blue Jays on Wednesday in a
five-player trade that sent 33-year-old Alex Gonzalez to the Bra
Hamburg completes signing of Diekmeier >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg have completed the signing of
right back Dennis Diekmeier for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract
from Nurnberg.
The 20-year-old has played for Germany at three junior levels and m
Barca set to add Adriano from Sevilla >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sevilla wing back Adriano is poised to
join Barcelona after the two clubs agreed to a fee for the Brazilian.
The 25-year-old has been with the Rojiblancos since January 2005, making just
over 200 appe
Stars sign veteran D Lukowich, two others >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars signed veteran defenseman Brad
Lukowich and two others to one-year, two-way contracts on Friday.
Lukowich, 33, has registered 23 goals and 90 assists in 653 regular season NHL
games with six
Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.
Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.
These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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