Bryant, Gasol help Lakers down Kings for 50th win of season

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a near triple-double and Pau Gasol ended with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, as the duo led the Lakers past the Kings, 106-99, at ARCO Arena.

The win was LA's fourth straight and 50th of the season, the third consecutive year the reigning champions have accomplished that feat.

Bryant went for 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Gasol added 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had 23 second-chance points to Sacramento's nine. Andrew Bynum ended with 21 points and 12 boards for the victors.

Tyreke Evans had another balanced game with 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine helpers for the Kings, who had won two of three coming into the game. Carl Landry deposited 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Jason Thompson chipped in 14 and 10 in defeat.

Ahead 61-57 midway through the third, Bryant and Lamar Odom each hit from behind the arc to extend the margin to 10.

Odom's buzzer-beater made it 77-68 in favor of LA heading to the fourth, where the Lakers scored the first seven points to pull away.

Shannon Brown's dunk capped the run for an 84-68 cushion, and the closest the Kings got until the final minute was eight.

Bryant scored 11 of the final 13 points of the first quarter to put the Lakers in front 28-17.

Sacramento quickly answered in the second and went ahead, 37-34, following a pair of buckets from Evans near the midway point.

In the final minute of the half, Bryant threw an alley-oop to Bynum and hit a free throw for a slim 49-48 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

LA has won five straight over Sacramento...Odom checked in with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 48.3 percent from the field...Spencer Hawes contributed 13 points and Omri Casspi had 10 for the Kings, who made 42.9 percent of their shots.

Gamblersville Basketball Betting News

<< Suns go off for 152, blow out Timberwolves
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson led eight Phoenix players in double figures with 27 points as the Suns lit up the scoreboard with a 152-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center. Amare Stoudemire netted 2

<< Anthony, Nuggets hand Wizards ninth straight defeat
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the Denver Nuggets battled back to upend the Washington Wizards, 97-87, at the Pepsi Center. J.R. Smith added 17 points off the bench and Nene

<< Stars crush Sharks in Dallas
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow each scored a pair of goals, as the Dallas Stars demolished the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks, 8-2, at American Airlines Center. Brad Richards had a goal and tw

<< Wozniacki, Dementieva, Jankovic reach Indian Wells QFs
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, fourth-seeded Russian star Elena Dementieva and No. 6 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia were each victorious in fourth-round play Tuesday at the $4.5 million BNP Par

<< Arkansas-Pine Bluff routs Winthrop in NCAA opener
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Smith scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, leading Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a convincing 61-44 win over Winthrop in the opening-round contest of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The win ea

Tavares scores twice as Islanders handle Canucks >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie John Tavares posted two goals and three assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, wh

Murray, Roddick advance; Federer bows out at Indian Wells >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer was upset by 27th-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in third-round action, while fourth-seeded Andy Murray and seventh-seeded Andy Roddick moved into the fourth round Tuesday at the $4.

Bell signs offer sheet with Eagles >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles signed restricted free agent running back Mike Bell to an offer sheet on Thursday. The New Orleans Saints now have seven days to match the deal, which the Philadelphia Inqui

Ark-Pine Bluff beats Winthrop in NCAA opener >>
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -When it mattered most, Arkansas-Pine Bluff turned into kings of the road.Losers of their first 11 games - all on the road - the Golden Lions turned their first trip to the NCAA tournament into one worth the extra packing. Allen Sm

Hughes, Bohannon may give Badgers tournament edge >>
MILWAUKEE (AP) -It's perhaps the most oft-repeated nugget of conventional NCAA tournament wisdom and it bodes particularly well for Wisconsin this year: Experienced guard play can be a decisive edge.The Badgers start one of the tournament's most exp

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.