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02/14/2007 -
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Marcus Banks didn't work, and neither did Marko Jaric.
Mike James hasn't been the answer either, and the Minnesota Timberwolves couldn't swing a deal for Allen Iverson in December.
Now they turn to Randy Foye as their starting point guard, hoping the heady rookie can be what they've been looking for since Stephon Marbury skipped town nine years ago.
Foye will make his second start in a row at point guard on Wednesday night when the Nuggets come to town sans Iverson, who will miss the game with an ankle injury.
``I'm excited to get out there with guys like KG, Ricky Davis,'' Foye said after practice Tuesday. ``It just makes it a little easier on me as a rookie out there.''
Coach Randy Wittman abruptly made the decision on Sunday against Boston, sending the veteran James to the bench in a move that did not sit well with the Wolves' biggest free-agent offseason acquisition.
``It is what it is,'' James said with a shrug. ``He's the boss. Have to listen to what he says.''
James' averages this season are down in every category, including an almost 50 percent drop in his scoring average from 20.3 last year in Toronto to 10.8 points a game.
With guys like Kevin Garnett, Mark Blount and Ricky Davis in the starting lineup, shots have been harder to come by this season for James, who parlayed a career year for the woeful Raptors into a four-year, $23 million deal with Minnesota.
He has struggled to fit in with the Timberwolves, a shoot-first point guard in a starting lineup full of guys who like to shoot the ball.
Looking to restore a little balance to the first and second units, Wittman put James on the bench in hopes his scorer's mentality will help a second team that has had trouble putting the ball in the hole.
``I didn't do it really for anything more than to try to see if we can help him,'' Wittman said of James. ``He's been up and down this year in his play.
``When you're playing with Kevin and Ricky and Mark Blount, the way Mark Blount's playing, there's a lot that you have to make sure they're getting their touches and getting in the right spots, which I think took away from his aggression.''
Foye recognizes that his approach will change with the new starter's status. He was the primary scorer in college at Villanova, and now he's charged with running the show, distributing the ball and getting everyone involved.
``I pass first with them guys,'' Foye said. ``One of the biggest things is, with them guys, I'm a passer in the beginning, but late in games I'm a scorer.''
That sounds a lot like a young Marbury, who worked so well with Garnett early in his career in what initially looked like a souped-up version of Stockton-to-Malone. The two complemented each other very well, with Garnett controlling play for the first three quarters before deferring to Marbury in the fourth period.
But Marbury eventually refused to play second fiddle to Garnett and forced a trade to New Jersey, and the Wolves have been searching for a replacement at the point ever since.
James' bravado and willingness to take the big shot seemed to make him qualified, but he scored in double figures (10) just once in his previous seven starts before coming off the bench on Sunday.
Against the Celtics, he scored just five points on free throws in 14 minutes.
``I didn't anticipate him being happy,'' Wittman said. ``What I do anticipate is him being professional and playing, which he did.
``Nobody likes to have that situation. I was a player once that lost it. You don't like it. But you have to go out and try to fight to get it back and stay aggressive. That's all I'm worried about.''
Foye had 10 points and eight assists against the Celtics and made a brilliant pass to Davis off a drive for the winning shot.
``He played under control,'' Wittman said. ``It's a fine line with him because he's an aggressive kid that looks to score and I thought he really handled moving the ball, getting guys involved, as well as attacking the basket at opportune times.''
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Thrashers-Flames, Sums
Atlanta 0 1 0-1Calgary 3 1 0-4First Period-1, Calgary, Langkow 23 (Phaneuf, Huselius), 2:59 (pp). 2, Calgary, Iginla 25 (Conroy, Tanguay), 6:19 (pp). 3, Calgary, Langkow 24 (Huselius, Iginla), 13:59 (pp). Penalties-Sim, Atl (goalie interferenc
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San Jose 3 3 0-6St. Louis 1 2 2-5First Period-1, San Jose, Clowe 13 (Thornton, Cheechoo), :39. 2, San Jose, Carle 6 (Cheechoo, Thornton), 6:51 (pp). 3, St. Louis, Guerin 23 (Backman, Tkachuk), 13:15 (pp). 4, San Jose, Grier 12 (Marleau, Michalek)
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N.Y. Islanders 0 2 0 0-3Toronto 1 1 0 0-2N.Y. Islanders won shootout 2-1First Period-1, Toronto, Kubina 5 (Colaiacovo, Steen), 6:14 (pp). Penalties-Meyer, NYI (hooking), 4:38, Gervais, NYI (hooking), 9:02.Second Period-2, N.Y. Islanders
Mavericks win eighth straight; Heat rolling into All-Star break >>
The Dallas Mavericks used a strong fourth quarter to rally for their eighth straight win. The Miami Heat are rolling, too, and when they return to the court after the All-Star game, coach Pat Riley will be back on the sideline for the first time sin
Tuesday's College Basketball >>
Buffalo 98, Bowling Green 90, OTNiagara 89, Canisius 88Penn 48, Princeton 35SOUTHCharlotte 80, Louisiana-Lafayette 56E. Kentucky 46, Samford 38Georgia Tech 63, Florida St. 57Jacksonville St. 57, Morehead St. 52Old Dominion 96, Hofstra 82Stetson 88,
Weis testifies in obesity surgery lawsuit >>
BOSTON (AP) - Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis testified Wednesday he had gastric bypass surgery because he was afraid he would die if he didn't lose weight, but life-threatening complications resulted after the procedure.In his malpractice lawsuit, We
NFL COMBINE: Small school stars hoping to make big names for themselves >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Michael Coe wants what Danieal Manning has.Coe, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback from Alabama State, has looked at the career path of the Chicago Bears' rookie free safety, envisioning what it might be like to jump from a small school
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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