All eyes on Colangelo, Bargnani

Basketball Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a hot summer in full swing, it's no surprise that Bryan Colangelo has been busy working up a sweat.

After sending Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade deal that netted the Toronto Raptors two first round draft picks and a trade exception, Colangelo elected against rebuilding with the hopes of remaining competitive this upcoming season.

The 2010 season is expected to be challenging for a Raptors team that has failed to make the postseason two years running and will be without the services of Bosh, its franchise-leading scorer and five-time all-star, for the first time in seven years.

However, Colangelo is still focused on the now, as his competitive nature thrives on getting back to the playoffs, rather than rebuilding.

The trade exception is worth an approximate $14.5 million and could prove to be the most important asset the Raptors possess moving forward. The Raptors president and GM continued to reshape his roster following Bosh's departure to South Beach, and even managed to find a suitor in the Phoenix Suns for the disgruntled Hedo Turkoglu; a trade that was originally supposed to be part of a three-way deal involving the Charlotte Bobcats.

In return, the Raptors received combo-guard Leandro Barbosa and power forward Dwayne Jones from Phoenix. Colangelo has familiarity with Barbosa dating back to his days as general manager of Phoenix, as he acquired the seven-year veteran in a 2003 draft day deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

Barbosa averaged 9.5 points per games with the Suns last season but missed 37 games due to a nagging wrist injury that required surgery in January. Since winning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2007, Barbosa's numbers have slipped but he does add some much-needed quickness to Toronto, as well as another player who can slash and handle the ball. The biggest gain in this deal for the Raptors, however, is being able to wipe their hands clean of Turkoglu's long-term and albatross-like contract.

Turkoglu had a disappointing year with the Raptors after signing a five-year, $53 million deal with the club last summer, averaging 11.3 points per game for his lowest total since the 2003-2004 season. He then voiced his displeasure about Toronto to a Turkish media outlet earlier in the offseason, vowing that he no longer wished to be a member of the organization. The 31-year-old forward would later retract the statements, but the damage left Colangelo with no choice but to test the market for the 10-year veteran.

Colangelo will need to stay active, as he is now temporarily 'stuck' with Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans, after a deal for Tyson Chandler fell apart, and has the trade exception from the Heat he can use in a future deal.

Until the Raptors shore up their frontcourt, which was clearly a point of interest for Colangelo by targeting Diaw and Chandler, the club will be working in a young mix of forwards to the rotation, including Ed Davis, the Raptors 2010 first-round draft pick. Linas Kleiza could also become a rotation player for the Raptors after the team signed him to an offer sheet last week following a stint in Greece.

The Denver Nuggets, who retain Kleiza's rights, aren't expected to match the offer after using their mid-level exception to acquire Al Harrington, clearing the way for the Raptors to land the 24-year-old European. Kleiza spent the first four years of his career with the Nuggets, averaging a career-best 11.1 points-per game in the 2007-2008 season.

The success of Colangelo's offseason makeover will largely hinge on the ability of Andrea Bargnani to continue developing. The path is now set for Bargnani to become the next franchise player of this Raptors squad, and it's his upside that makes him such an intriguing option.

Colangelo certainly sees it, as he inked the Italian to a 5-year, $50 million contract last summer. He's the most gifted offensive player on the team, and can score from the inside and out.

Much of the criticism directed at Bargnani ensued following his disappointing sophomore season, which carried over to the first half of his third year in the league. Since then, Bargnani has proved to be a formidable sidekick to former Raptor Bosh on the offensive end, as the two were able to extend defenses with their exceptionally strong shooting.

Bargnani averaged career-highs with 17.4 points-per-game, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, also leading the team in three-pointers made with 121.

The firing of Sam Mitchell and hiring of Jay Triano in 2008 has had positive impact on Bargnani's production. Mitchell was quick to remove Bargnani for defensive lapses and bury him on the bench for long stretches during his time as head coach in Toronto, but Triano elected to go another route with the young big man, allowing him on many nights to fight through defensive blunders, while rewarding him for his strong play offensively.

Patience proved to be positive for the Raptors in certain respects, as the 24- year-old turned into a solid one-on-one defender in the post last season, where his career-best mark of 1.4 blocks per game was good for 11th best among Eastern Conference players.

The Raptors have a young nucleus centered around Bargnani and the improvements are not only going to have to come from offseason acquisitions but also from within, where DeMar DeRozan will be one of those players Triano looks upon to elevate his game.

Bargnani is Colangelo's chosen one, the clear cut 'guy' on this team, who may have a solid enough supporting cast to flourish in this new found role. The fans may be reluctant passing the 'franchise' tag to Bargnani but as he enters his fifth season and first without Bosh, the timing couldn't be better.

Who knows, maybe Colangelo is on to something and the Raptors will actually produce a franchise player that can help the team win something in the future.

The time is now for Bargnani to prove he's not a bust after being drafted No.1 overall in 2006.

Whether he is ready or not, the success of this club is now resting on his shoulders.

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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