Atlanta Hawks's Atlanta Hawks friend's fan blogs

The NBA is completely bonkers right now. With less than two weeks until season’s tip-off, players are being flipped faster than flapjacks at IHOP. Chris Paul has been perfecting his start-and-stop from the comfort of his living room. Dwight Howard can't seem to decipher his own feelings about the Magic. Lamar Odom, as collateral from the Paul fall-out, whined his way to the Mavs, who were spurned earlier in the week by Tyson Chandler (Knicks). Chauncey Billups took his frequent flier miles to the Clips (though he could be dealt again by the time I finish this sentence) and Big Baby was swapped for Brandon Bass.

The Celtics thought they had Baby's replacement in David West (Paul’s former right-hand man) but the Pacers swooped in and snagged him for a cool $20 mil. Consequently, the Hornets are trying to fill out a roster with Quincy Pondexter and a collection of ball boys. Vinsanity joined Odom in Dallas, which lost Caron Butler to the Clippers, which matched Golden State’s absurd, $43 million qualifying offer to DeAndre Jordan (he with the career 5.9 ppg). T-Mac, Rip Hamilton, Chris Wilcox, Mike Bibby and Dunleavy are on the move as well, though these names seem like afterthoughts compared to the seismic activity higher up.

Continue reading "NBA Anarchy"

The Pats enter this sunday's matchup with Philadelphia at 7-3, after opening up a relatively-commanding two-game lead on the Jets and Buffalo following monday night's dismantling of the Cassel-less Chiefs. The victory was a definitive 34-3, but there are those who still worry about the flow of the offense, specifically Tom Brady's sporatic accuracy and questionable decision making.

Count me among the concerned. With 10 interceptions already, Tom Terrific has already thrown six more than he threw all of last year and is on pace to obliterate his previous high of 14. His quarterback rating is an impressive 102.5 and many picks have come off tipped balls, but Brady simply does not seem in control of every facet of the game, as he has in years past. Easy throws, particularly screens and curls, are often strangely underthrown or off-target. His pocket presence seems untenable and things frequently just seem off, for a lack of a better word. Its as if he were nursing an injury that no one knows about.

Continue reading "Brady Off So Far"

Atlanta made it a point to win their regular-season series with Orlando after getting demolished in last year’s playoffs, and they did a great job in jumping out to a 3-1 series lead. However, the Hawks were pummeled in Orlando on Tuesday night by a final score of 101-76, and now a seed of doubt has been planted. Do the Atlanta Hawks have the heart to rid themselves of the Orlando Magic on Thursday night?

Teams can be accused of taking their foot off the gas with a 3-1 lead in a series, and that certainly looked to be the case as the Hawks were down by 13 points at the end of the first quarter, and then 23 points at halftime. The most discouraging aspect of the game for those betting on Atlanta’s  NBA odds wasn’t that they allowed the Magic to get hot from three-point land, which is something they smothered in the first four games of the series (Orlando shot 11-of-26 from beyond the arc), but it was that the Magic had such an easy time dismantling the Hawks with  Dwight Howard battling foul trouble and not shooting the ball. Howard had been destroying the Hawks, but last night, he took four shots, and ended up with eight points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes. The Hawks looked lethargic right out of the gate, and the fact that they let the Magic run roughshod over them without Howard having a big game has to be deflating.

Continue reading "Can The Hawks Finally Close Out The Magic?"

I'm not sure if the New York Knicks have all the pieces in place right now, but by adding Carmelo Anthony they are certainly one big step closer to being a NBA championship contender. Although considering the mismanagement over the last 10 years it's heard to believe they won't mess this up too.

Watch for the Knicks to make some strong stragetic moves during this off season to sure things up and make them a true Eastern conference powerhouse.

New York NY Direct TV can bring you all the Knicks action you want.

Continue reading "Are the New York Knicks real contenders with Carmelo Anthony on board?"

Two cities that produce NBA Eastern Conference contenders also have the two teams that are favored to win the Super Bowl as the NFL playoffs are set to begin this weekend.

NBA spread betting experts might recognize that Atlanta and Boston produce two East contenders and with the Falcons and Patriots, both cities have the Super Bowl XLV juggernauts as well.

Just as in the NBA’s East, Atlanta’s team is viewed with an eye of pessimism. The Falcons had a great regular season but don’t have a ton of playoff experience. They’re a young squad that is gaining it on the fly.

Meanwhile, Boston’s team - just like in the NBA – is experienced, savvy and has done it before. The Patriots are the odds-on favorites to do it all and considering they’ve won it three times this decade, why bet against them?

Continue reading "Patriots, Falcons Super Bowl Favorites"

Basketball betting is not quite as common as betting on some other sports, but if you do your research, take your time and keep accurate records, there’s no reason you can’t be as successful at betting on basketball as betting on anything else. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Top Basketball Betting Tip: NCAA vs. NBA

Of course you are welcome to bet both college and pro basketball (including the WNBA), like placing your bets in online video poker games, you need to be aware that each type of basketball may have very different factors in play. In college basketball, every game counts, whereas pro teams can afford to drop a few games here and there and still have a great shot at the championship. There may be a much larger disparity between two competing college teams. Know the league you’re betting.

Continue reading "Top Basketball Betting Tips"

I really like the direction this team is going but I'm not so sure they can really be a contender in the East this year.  The East has gotten a lot stronger over the last few years and while I think they can make the playoffs I don't really see any chance that they can really beat The Magic, the Heat, the Celtics, of the Bulls.  And I'm skeptical they can even beat teams like the 76ers or the Hawks.

What do you think? 

Continue reading "Can the Charlotte Bobcats be a contender in the East?"

There’s been a lot of griping recently over the state of Boston sports, serving (for me) as another ugly reminder of the developing, spoiled and cocksure nature of fans in this area. Let’s take a quick look, shall we?

Despite not  having played superbly of late, the Celtics stand at 31-16 and hold a five-and-a-half game lead in their division over Toronto.  

The Patriots finished the season at 10-6 (and a perfect 8-0 at home) and lost in the conference semi-finals to Baltimore.

The line between the Red Sox and Yankees is becoming more blurred each year (I know, I know, blasphemous!). But the Sox pay more and more to rob smaller market teams of their best players. Last year they finished 95-67 and, again, made the playoffs.

The Bruins are apparently stinking up then Garden this year but last year made a nice push into the playoffs.

Continue reading "A Message to Boston Sports Fans"

Today, after receiving a pair of free tickets to the Pistons/Nuggets game at the Palace, I had a few reactions.

My first one was, “Hell Yeah! Free Pistons Tickets!”

The second one was, “Have I seen Carmelo Anthony in person?” I had to think about it, but nope, I’ve never seen ‘Melo play.

The fact is, I haven’t seen a lot of the best players in the game play.

When I was younger, I went to a ton of Pistons games, and I saw most if not all of the best players of the 90’s play in person.

But when you spend a good portion of the 2000’s in college, and the rest of it fresh out of college still looking for that high paying job that the $30,000 piece of paper you just received tells you that you deserve, it becomes a little tougher financially to squeeze in a whole lot of Piston games.

Continue reading "Three Year Bucket List"

Oh man, it’s been a bit too long and I’d like to apologize, first and foremost, to my legion of loyal readers. Who still checks in on occasion? Rogers? You still out there? Bark twice if you’re in Milwaukee!  Slim Bob? Herman? Dalton? Petey? Reginald? David Lefort from the Boston Globe? 

Anyway, lets talk sports. Or perhaps, I will talk sports with myself. Either way, it should be a good time.

During the past week, the Sox allowed Alex Gonzalez to stroll north of the boarder via free agency and then nabbed the man A-Gon will be replacing in Toronto, Marco Scutaro. As far as shortstop swaps go, this move has been widely praised as a coupe. Not only is Scutaro, seemingly, a superior offensive player but he also comes with a pristine reputation as a team-first, winning player. (On another note, I find it equally amusing and sickening that the Sox will pay more money to Julio Lugo to NOT play for them next season than they will pay Scutaro).

Continue reading "Checking In... And Talking Sox Shortstop Situation"