Bulls rout Hornets
Basketball Betting Lines
02/08/2012 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer scored 18 points and the Chicago Bulls barely needed Derrick Rose in an easy 90-67 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.
The Hornets lost their seventh game in a row and needed a three-pointer from Marco Belinelli with 0.5 seconds left to avoid a franchise-low in points scored.
Indeed, the game started and ended as a laugher: Actor and comedian Will Ferrell, in town shooting a movie, handled the intros for both teams before the game.
Rose, who left Monday's win over New Jersey with lower back spasms, played only 22 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter. He had six points, six assists and five rebounds.
"He says he feels pretty good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of the reigning MVP.
Chris Kaman had 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench to lead the Hornets and Belinelli scored 13. New Orleans fell to 4-22.
The Bulls moved to 22-6 on the season and 5-2 on a nine-game road trip that ends with visits to Charlotte and Boston. They won their fourth straight game and third in a row by 20-plus points.
The best team in the Eastern Conference had no trouble with the worst team in the Western Conference, leading by as many as 28 points in the wire-to-wire win.
"The way the ball's moving, it's not sticking anywhere," said Thibodeau. "We're getting good shots."
The Bulls shot 52.4 percent and led 23-14 after the first quarter. In the second, they went up 15 on Taj Gibson's fastbreak dunk and took a 42-27 lead on Kyle Korver's three-pointer from the left side in transition.
It was 44-31 at halftime and 70-46 going into the fourth quarter. The Bulls went ahead by a game-high 28 points on John Lucas' three-pointer in the final minutes.
Game Notes
The Bulls have won seven in a row over New Orleans and 10 of the last 12 meetings...Among Ferrell's introductions was this one: "At guard, No. 1, his favorite movie is 'The Notebook' ... Derrick Rose!"
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Novak had 14 points to lift No. 22 Michigan to a 62-46 win over Nebraska. Stu Douglass had 13 points and Trey Burke added 12 along with five rebounds and five assists for the Wolverines (18-7,
<< Oilers become Red Wings' latest victim at Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit just cannot be beaten at home this
season.
Goals in the third period by Drew Miller and Henrik Zetterberg helped the Red
Wings extend their home winning streak to 18 games in a 4-2 win over
<< Kansas cruises past Baylor
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Withey scored a career-high 25 points as No.
7 Kansas rolled over sixth-ranked Baylor, 68-54, to take a share of first
place in the Big 12.
The teams entered the game in a tie for second place wit
<< Smith leads Hawks past Pacers
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith had 28 points and 12 rebounds on
Wednesday, leading the Hawks to a 97-87 win over the Pacers.
Atlanta had lost three in a row, but got 20 points and eight assists from Joe
Johnson, 17 points f
<< Boston College upsets No. 15 Florida State
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Daniels netted a game-high 21
points to go with five assists as Boston College knocked off No. 15 Florida
State, 64-60, on Wednesday.
Matt Humphrey finished with 15 points and Ryan Anderso
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Miller made 36 saves to record his third shutout of the season and 25th of his career as the Buffalo Sabres thumped the Boston Bruins, 6-0, at First Niagara Center. Jason Pominville netted a pair of go
Duke's Austin Rivers beats buzzer, Tar Heels >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Duke trailed the entire second half until
Austin Rivers hit a three-pointer from the right wing as time expired, lifting
the 10th-ranked Blue Devils over No. 5 North Carolina, 85-84.
Rivers finished with
Improved bench has Spurs ready to ride in watered-down West >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's tough to write an obituary for a team
that wins 61 games during the NBA's regular season but that didn't stop a
number of my peers from declaring the aging San Antonio Spurs dead on arrival
after they we
Nowitzki leads Mavs over Nuggets >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points and pulled down
nine rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Denver Nuggets 105-95 at
Pepsi Center on Wednesday.
Dallas had five players in double figures, including 17
Jokinen's hat trick leads Flames over Sharks >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olli Jokinen capped his seventh career hat
trick with the winner in the third period as the Calgary Flames took a 4-3 win
over the San Jose Sharks.
Jokinen also had an assist while Jarome Iginla added a g
FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.