WAYNE ROOT
2009 Football Upset Club
3* East Carolina (+3) over Memphis
Karl Garrett
20 DIMER - EAST CAROLINA PIRATES
10 DIMER - CLEVELAND CAVS
Much prefer to lay the highway lumber here, as even though the Pirates are a dismal 1-8 their last 9 as a road favorite, they DO own Memphis, and that is a fact.
East Carolina is 12-1 against the spread the last 13 series meetings, and that includes 7 straight covers, with 3 straight up wins in a row.
Skip Holtz' team has Virginia Tech up next, and at 4-3, a loss here would not be good for their bowl hopes, so expect the Pirates to handle their business on the road against a foe they have dominated.
Memphis is just 2-5 straight up, and and 1-5 against the spread in their lined games this season.
I don't see it happening for Tommy West's team tonight, I just don't!
Take East Carolina minus the points.
10 DIMER - CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Why not?
Battle of Eastern Conference titans, and each team made a big move in the off-season, as Boston picked up Rasheed Wallace, while Cleveland got the Big Diesel.
Just hard to go against a Cleveland team that went 45-3 last season at home, while going 32-16 against the spread. Those are some solid money-making numbers for shit sure.
Including the playoffs, Cleveland has won 5 of the last 9 against Boston straight up, and they have covered in 8 of those 9.
Kevin Garnett is back and healthy for Boston, and that is certainly good for both the Celtics, and the league, but tonight is ALL about LeBron and Shaq, and an opening night win and cover.
Take the Cavs minus the points.
Chris Jordan
100♦ EAST CAROLINA
50♦ BOSTON CELTICS
Doc's Sports
4 Units Celtics/Cavs Under 184.5
3 Units Wizards +8
Ben Burns
#1 NHL Game of the Month!
EDMONTON
Craig Davis
20 Dime - EAST CAROLINA (Buy the 1/2 point if your line is -4 or -4 1/2. Do nothing if it is -5.)
10 Dime - Wizards-Mavericks OVER
ANTHONY REDD
20 Dime Memphis
igz1 sports
3* Colorado +110
ATS
3 Units E Carolina -4
Rob Veno
NBA SEASON WIN TOTAL 20* BLUECHIP – Chicago OVER 41.5
Extremely surprised at this number being offered and have no problem taking advantage of it. The Bulls are off of a 41-41 season where they grew up a bit and got their first taste of winning games in the post season. The three wins they recorded came as heavy series underdogs to the Eastern Conference’s #2 seed Boston in what was an epic seven game series. While morale victories aren’t what teams are after in the playoffs, the Bulls performance was an absolute success and that success has them hungry for even more this time around. With the team focused on upgrading their achievement, it’s hard to understand why they’re required to win just one more regular season game than they did last year in order to cash this ticket. The obvious reason for the oddsmakers apprehension about this team is obviously the departure of leading scorer Ben Gordon who exited to Detroit. I appreciate Gordon’s point scoring abilities as much as anyone but the truth is, his omission from the Chicago roster is vastly over valued here. It’s no secret that while Gordon was a proven go to guy for the Bulls in crunch time, he was a defensive liability. His two guard spot will now be filled by 6’6” starter John Salmons and versatile sixth man Kirk Hinrich, both of whom are far better on ball and overall defenders. The Chicago roster figures to be just as potent as last season’s as their speed and depth should allow them to push the pace and score the way second year HC Vinny Del Negro wants them to. Point guard Derrick Rose is on the verge of blossoming into one of the game’s elite at his position and in him, Chicago has their “go to” guy void filled. Rose, Salmons and Hinrich provide Chicago with one of the East’s most talented backcourt trios on each end of the floor. Veteran Jannero Pargo gives the Bulls instant offensive spark off the bench while the ageless Lindsay Hunter gives the guard unit a defensive specialist. The frontcourt is the key to this team and a main reason why I feel this team will exceed the posted win total. Versatile small forward Luol Deng returns after an injury riddled season and he appears ready to again become a significant cog in this lineup. Deng will be complemented up front by the dynamic shot blocking and rebounding tandem of power forward Tyrus Thomas and center Joakim Noah. In the Boston series, these two players were as important to Chicago’s victories if not more important than anyone else. Simply put, when these guys are active and are end to end presences, then Chicago can play with and defeat any team. Veteran and skilled center Brad Miller backs up Noah making this a very strong position for the Bulls while active and athletic rookies Taj Gibson (USC) and James Johnson (Wake Forest) man the 4 and three reserve spots respectively. Gibson has looked especially good this preseason and Johnson has shown the ability to play either forward spot. In a nutshell, this team is as versatile as any in the East. They have a plethora of players who can play multiple positions which helps their depth tremendously. Chicago has a youthful exuberance yet they’ve got experience under their belt and extreme desire in their system. Offensively there doesn’t figure to be any drop off and they can run teams into the ground. Defensively they should be much better as they’re quickness, increased size, aggressiveness, athleticism and learned wisdom will spearhead their improvement. Eastern Conference rosters are not much different from a talent standpoint than they were last season except for the three teams at the top. That lack of dramatic improvement amongst the mid to bottom rung clubs is another solid reason why it’s not very much to ask Chicago to win one more game than they did in the 2008-’09 campaign. 42-40 seems very reasonable here for a Bulls team that has the ingredients to win 45+ games.
Brandon Lang
15 Dime East Carolina
5 Dime Cavs
Bob Balfe
East Carolina/Memphis Under 48
Both teams are not as good on offense this season as they were last year. ECU won 30-10 in last years meeting and did not allow Memphis to rush or pass. This season ECU is not as good offensively and on the road I do not see them putting up too many points. Pinkney is having just an average season at QB while Memphis is already on their third QB this season. Look for a low scoring game. Take the Under.
Trailblazers -9.5 over Rockets
Paul Leiner
100* Cle/Bos Over 185.5
50* Memphis +4
25* Port/Hou Over 186
ROCKETMAN
Detroit @ Vancouver
Play: 3* Detroit -110
Red Wings are 46-17 in their last 63 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game. Red Wings aŒre 75-35-2 in their last 112 games playing on 2 days rest. Red Wings are 154-74-2 in their last 230 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game. Red Wings are 35-17 in their last 52 vs. Northwest. Canucks are 17-35 in their last 52 in the third game of a 3-in-4 situation. Canucks are 2-7 in their last 9 games playing on 1 days rest. Canucks are 1-4 in their last 5 vs. Central. Canucks are 1-4 in their last 5 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game. We'll play Detroit for 3 units tonight!
Street Rosenthal
*200 Los Angeles Clippers +10
I do not have very many NBA plays the first couple of weeks, but this play is one of my favorites. We will fade the defending NBA Champions on opening night as they receive their rings. After the Lakers won the championship in 2000, they lost the season opener at home to the Utah Jazz after getting their rings. After winning the title in 2001, the Lakers got their rings and won the opener over the Portland Trail Blazers. But after the Lakers won the NBA championship in 2002, they got their rings at home and lost to the San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers will be watching the Lakers get their rings. The Clippers will be fired up to achieve the same, however the Lakers will be spent emotionally. Take the Clippers getting double digits in an opening night game.