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07/01/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly close to hiring Byron Scott as their next head coach.
Several media sources report the Cavs were in negotiations with Scott, who started last season as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets before being fired just nine games into the 2009-10 campaign.
Scott was in his sixth season with the Hornets and was in the final year of a two-year extension he signed in May of 2008 when he was let go. Scott compiled a record of 203-216 during his tenure in New Orleans.
The Cavs fired Mike Brown after a second-round playoff loss to Boston. Brown spent the last five seasons with the Cavs and guided the team to a record of 272-138.
The Cavs were looking to make a splash with a big-name coach by trying to lure Tom Izzo to the NBA ranks, but Izzo opted to stay at Michigan State for what seems the duration of his career. Lakers assistant Brian Shaw also was a finalist to coach the Cavs, but withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday.
The Cavaliers face the possibility of a bigger change this summer should reigning two-time MVP LeBron James leave the team.
Before taking over in New Orleans, Scott guided the New Jersey Nets to a record of 149-139 with a pair of NBA Finals appearances in three-plus seasons. After leading the previously-moribund Nets to the league title series in the spring of 2002 and 2003, Scott was fired with a 22-20 mark midway through the 2003-04 campaign.
Scott was an assistant coach with Sacramento for two seasons after a 14-year playing career with the Lakers, Pacers and Grizzlies. He won three NBA titles during the late 1980s with the Lakers.
<< Wolves to host Gay, Lee this week
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The Minnesota Timberwolves will bring free agents Rudy Gay of Memphis and David Lee of New York in for visits this week.Team president David Kahn says Gay will come to the Twin Cities on Thursday and stay through Friday and Lee wil
<< At last, free agency starts for Dwyane Wade
MIAMI (AP) -For Dwyane Wade, the start of free agency was predictable. He got courted by Pat Riley.The Miami Heat contacted a slew of top free agents when the clock struck 12:01 a.m. Thursday, a deep list that includes Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh
<< Wild re-sign Latendresse
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild re-signed forward
Guillaume Latendresse to a two-year, $5 million contract Wednesday night.
Latendresse scored a career-high 27 goals last season and had a total of 13
assists.
<< Guillen's blast lifts Royals over ChiSox
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Guillen capped a four-run seventh with
a three-run homer, as the Kansas City Royals held off the Chicago White Sox,
7-6, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
Billy Butler
Guerrero burns former team as Rangers top Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vladimir Guerrero continued to torment his old
team, going 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBI, as the Texas Rangers evened
this three-game set with a 6-4 win over the rival Angels.
Guerrero, who spent the
LeBron heads huge free-agent crop >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's biggest crop of free agents hit
the open market Thursday morning with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade,
Dirk Nowitzki, Amar'e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson headlining the wish list of
several
Now a free agent, King James awaits his suitors >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Finally free to leave Cleveland, LeBron James is ready to hear reasons why he should.The NBA's long-awaited free agency period opened early Thursday, with teams such as New York and Miami focusing their attention on California.Now all
Agent: Byron Scott accepts Cavs' job >>
CLEVELAND (AP) -Byron Scott has accepted Cleveland's coaching job, his agent told The Associated Press.Brian McInerney said in an e-mail that the sides are working through some final details, but that Scott has agreed to become Cleveland's next coac
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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