Grizzlies hope to solve home woes vs. Spurs

Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies are probably the only team in the NBA that doesn't want to play on the home floor right now.

The Grizzlies have lost seven straight in front of the home crowd as they get ready to host the San Antonio Spurs tonight. In contrast, Lionel Hollins' club has won a franchise-record six consecutive games away from FedEx Forum, the latest of which was a 105-96 win in Chicago on Thursday.

Zach Randolph poured in 31 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in that one, as Memphis dominated the fourth quarter to beat the Bulls.

O.J. Mayo scored half of his 20 points in the last quarter for the Grizzlies, while Rudy Gay had 17 points and Mike Conley contributed 14 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies. Memphis is four games off the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

"We played great tonight. Everybody played great," Randolph said. "I stepped it up. That's what we need to do to give ourselves a chance to win."

The Spurs have won three in a row and will commence a quick road trip tonight against Memphis and Cleveland. They are 13-14 away from the Alamo City this season and recently handed the New Orleans Hornets a 102-91 setback on Friday at the AT&T Center.

Oft-injured guard Tony Parker led seven players in double figures with 20 points, as San Antonio pulled away in the fourth to remain seventh in the West. Manu Ginobili scored 16 points, Keith Bogans had 15 and George Hill netted 14 for the Spurs, who got 10 points and 12 rebounds from DeJuan Blair.

"He can't go play that much right now because of the injuries and the time off," Popovich said of Parker. "He's got to work to get in shape, but at the same time he can't exacerbate the hip or ankle."

Future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan had 12 points and eight rebounds.

San Antonio has won eight of its past 10 games with the Grizz.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.