Sixers hand Bobcats 7th straight loss

Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobcats coach Paul Silas wasn't on the court Friday night to see his team lose a season-high seventh straight game.

Ejected during a timeout, he missed the last 2 1/2 quarters of another bleak loss.

Lou Williams scored 17 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 and the Philadelphia 76ers easily handled Charlotte, 89-72, leading wire-to-wire and by as many as 30 points.

Silas was ejected as the game got out of hand, tossed after receiving two technical fouls during a timeout in the second quarter while his team trailed by 21.

The Bobcats, who are an NBA-worst 3-17, continue to deal not only with the frustration of losing, but also with injuries to some of their best players.

Gerald Henderson returned Friday from a one-game absence because of a bruised lower back, scoring seven, but D.J. Augustin missed his third straight game with a toe injury and D.J. White sat with a left knee contusion.

Shorthanded, the Bobcats lost their fourth straight game by at least 10 points after staying within single digits in their previous three losses. They also had a six-game losing streak earlier in the season,

The Atlantic division-leading Sixers, meanwhile, avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Coming off an overtime loss to New Jersey on Wednesday, they opened with a 14-3 run sparked by Jodie Meeks' three-pointer and never looked back. Holiday scored the last seven points of the burst, including a three to cap it.

Meeks finished with 14 points for Philadelphia and Thaddeus Young had 10, while rookie Kemba Walker scored 14 to lead the Bobcats.

The Sixers held Charlotte to 21.1 percent shooting in the first quarter and had a 23-10 lead at the buzzer.

They continued to pour it on, scoring a season-high 36 points in the second quarter. Silas was ejected after the Bobcats took a timeout while trailing 46-25.

Meeks hit both technical free throws, ending an 18-4 run that pushed the lead from nine points to 23 with 4:48 remaining in the first half.

The Sixers led 59-37 at the break, shooting 56.1 percent in the first half, and carried a 26-point lead into the fourth quarter. They went ahead by as many as 30.

Game Notes

The home team has won the last five games in this series, and 19 of the last 22...The Bobcats have lost four of five and nine of their last 11 games at Philadelphia...The Sixers signed free-agent veteran center Francisco Elson earlier Friday to provide some depth at the position with Spencer Hawes (Achilles) and Nikola Vucevic (quad) missing time because of injuries. They are 2-1 on a seven-game homestand...The Bobcats return home to play Washington on Saturday.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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