Wednesday NCAA: Minnesota (18-3) at Michigan State (7-4)

Surprising Minnesota can grab a share of first-place in the Big Ten by upsetting Michigan State on Wednesday night in East Lansing.

The Spartans, who have lost a shocking two in a row at home for the first time in more than a decade, have opened as 8-point favorites on WagerWeb.com. MSU opened conference play at Minnesota on Dec. 31, taking a 70-58 victory. The Spartans are playing the third of five games in a 13-day span.

With former leading scorer Raymar Morgan battling an illness for the past few weeks (he won’t play tonight), Spartan sophomores Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers have combined for 123 points in the past three games as Summers is averaging 18.7 points, and Lucas is averaging 22.3. Lucas is leading the Big Ten in scoring in league games at 19.2 ppg and had 24 vs. Minnesota the first time around. Morgan, who averages 12 points and six rebounds, had 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Gophers back in December.

Center Goran Suton leads the Big Ten in rebounding in conference games at 9.9 rpg and had 12 in the first meeting with Minnesota this season. The Spartans lead the nation in rebound margin and thrashed Minnesota on the boards in the first game.

If State hits 70 points, it is money. The Spartans are 13-0 when scoring 70 or more points, but just 4-4 when scoring fewer than 70. The Spartans are third in the Big Ten, shooting 46.7 percent, and are scoring a league-high 75.5 points per game. Defensively, MSU is 15-0 when allowing fewer than 70 points, but 2-4 when allowing more than 70.

The Gophers have lost four in a row in this series. The Gophers haven’t won in East Lansing since a 79-74 victory during the 1989-90 season.

Minnesota is led by junior guard Lawrence Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 13.9 ppg but is the only Gopher in double figures. Minnesota is 15-3 this season when Westbrook reaches double-figures and 9-0 when he leads the team in scoring.

The Gophers have won six of eight games since the MSU loss, including impressive victories over Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois. They enter off a 23-point win over those Illini last Thursday (so they had plenty of time to prepare for MSU). It was the Golden Gophers’ first win against the Fighting Illini since Feb. 3, 1999, and their largest margin of victory over a ranked team. Minnesota, second in the Big Ten in field goal defense, held Illinois to 29.4 percent from the floor.

WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Golden Gophers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Golden Gophers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following a S.U. win.
* Golden Gophers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.
* Golden Gophers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Golden Gophers are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
* Golden Gophers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog of 7.0-12.5.
* Golden Gophers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog of 7.0-12.5.
* Golden Gophers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.
* Spartans are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games following a S.U. loss.
* Spartans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
* Spartans are 23-10-1 ATS in their last 34 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
* Spartans are 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Spartans are 41-20-1 ATS in their last 62 games as a favorite of 7.0-12.5.
* Spartans are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games.
* Spartans are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite.
* Spartans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Spartans are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 7.0-12.5.
* Under is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Michigan St.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
* Golden Gophers are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Michigan St.
* Golden Gophers are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

NCAA Basketball Betting at WagerWeb.com

Seminoles dismiss former star Parker from team

Spring practice begins soon in college football, and 2009 futures odds won’t be too far behind on WagerWeb.com. Already the Florida State Seminoles have gotten some bad news regarding next season: receiver Preston Parker’s football career at FSU is over after his second arrest in less than a year.

Coach Bobby Bowden announced the junior receiver was dismissed from the team Monday in a one-sentence statement released by the school. The 21-year-old Parker was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after Tallahassee police found him asleep in his running car early Saturday.

The police report said Parker admitted he had been drinking and smoking marijuana. It was the third time Parker has been arrested since 2006.

Parker had a hugely disappointing 2008 season, with 40 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns after missing the first two games because of suspension for an arrest on weapons and drug chargers. He also sat out the Champs Sports Bowl due to injury.

But Parker was FSU’s most essential offensive player in 2007, leading the Seminoles with 1,513 all-purpose yards, topping the team with 62 receptions and finishing second in receiving yards (791), rushing attempts (52) and rushing yards (270). He was named the team’s offensive MVP.

Parker already had announced he would return to FSU for his senior season.

“I didn’t really do enough to come out,” he said in December about possibly entering the NFL Draft.

The deadline to declare for the draft already has passed, but Parker could have a chance at being picked in the league’s supplemental draft. Parker also played some running back and returned punts and kickoffs for the Seminoles.

Parker’s dismissal does open a scholarship as it comes two days before national signing day. Combined with Greg Carr’s departure after four god seasons at Florida State, means the Seminoles will be relying heavily on underclassmen at wide receiver next season.

The Seminoles will return Taiwan Easterling and Bert Reed - third and fourth, respectively, in receiving yards last season - as well as senior Richard Goodman and freshman Jarmon Fortson. They also have verbal commitments from three wide receivers.

NCAA Betting at WagerWeb.com

Lakers’ Bynum out 2-3 months

Lakers center Andrew Bynum is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after results of an MRI on his injured right knee showed a tear of the medial collateral ligament, the team announced Monday.

Los Angeles begins life without its young big man at Madison Square Garden on Monday night but is still a 5.5-point road favorite on WagerWeb.com. No question their futures odds will change because of this injury.

Bynum was injured when Kobe Bryant tumbled into him after an off-balance drive Saturday against Memphis. Bynum missed the Lakers’ final 67 games last season (including playoffs) after sustaining a briefly dislocated left kneecap that eventually required surgery.

Emerging in his fourth NBA season as a dominant big man, he has been one of the Lakers’ top players lately, averaging 26 points, 14 rebounds and 3.2 blocks the last five games. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Jan. 19 through Jan. 25. Bynum is averaging 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.87 blocked shots in 46 games this season. Phil Jackson called the injury a “great disappointment.”

The injury was reminiscent of the one that ended his season a year ago. Again it came against the Grizzlies, again it was caused by one of his teammates, and again it occurred in the midst of the best stretch of his young career.

Without Bynum, the Lakers will probably go back to the lineup that got them to the Finals last year, with Pau Gasol moving from power forward to center and Lamar Odom leaving his role of sixth man and taking over at power forward.

The Lakers have a rematch with the Celtics later this week. Boston coach Doc Rivers said Bynum made all the difference in Los Angeles’ Christmas Day win.

“He makes you change the shot,” Rivers said. “We had three or four of them where we double-clutched for no reason – other than the fact that in the left of your eye he was coming. Size makes you miss layups.”

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White Sox’s Quentin healthy but will skip WBC

Carlos Quentin was probably the best pickup any team made two offseasons ago. The White Sox got Quentin for a song from the Diamondbacks, and all Quentin did was produce a .288 average, 36 home runs, 100 RBIs and 96 runs scored over 130 games. The right-handed-hitting slugger finished with a .394 on-base percentage, a .571 slugging percentage and was hit by a pitch 20 times for good measure.

However, he had to sit out September and the White Sox’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Rays after he suffered a fractured right wrist after punching his bat when he fouled off a ninth-inning pitch from Cliff Lee during a 5-0 loss in Cleveland on Sept. 1. That the White Sox won the AL Central without him was fairly surprising.

Quentin is recovered from that injury but has chosen to turn down an offer to play in the World Baseball Classic after he had accepted a spot on Team USA’s 45-man provisional roster. Quentin said he and the Sox mutually agreed he should withdraw.

“Given that it’s a great honor, I can’t thank USA Baseball enough for even considering me,” Quentin said. “Hopefully I’ll have that opportunity again. Missing that last month, it’s the right decision to forgo it and be ready for this season.”

Quentin entered 2008 spring training as a long shot to make the roster. But once he got his chance, he never left the starting lineup until he broke the wrist. He probably would have won the AL MVP award considering he was leading the AL in homers the day he got hurt. Quentin says he has to learn to channel his passion.

“Obviously, I didn’t want to do that,” Quentin said. “I play with passion. … It has always been an ingredient to my success. I learned I have to be a little more careful sometimes, but I don’t ever want to

While manager Ozzie Guillen has cautioned fans against thinking Quentin can have quite those same numbers again, Quentin will need to approach them for Chicago to repeat as AL Central champs with a few young players expected to move into the starting lineup – bet on White Sox futures at WagerWeb.com.

Quentin said he’s anxious for spring training to start so he can get back on the field again with his teammates.

“I’ve been hitting since the beginning of December on a regular basis. One-hand drills, live pitching. It felt great,” he added.

MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com

Lang injury a crusher for Habs

Look for the Montreal Canadiens to get even more active in trade talks for a forward now that second-leading scorer Robert Lang, easily the team’s best player this season, appears done for the season after suffering a slashed tendon in his foot Sunday vs. the Bruins.

Lang has been a brilliant pickup for the team, a hard-working, versatile, talented veteran who, with his 18th goal Sunday, became the team’s leading goal scorer. He was named the team’s Player of the Month for January after recording recorded 13 points (6 goals and 7 assists) in as many games in January. He registered a hat trick in a 6-3 win over the Rangers on January 7 at Madison Square Garden. During the month, the Czech Republic native also netted three power-play goals and added one short-handed marker.

This is a huge loss for a team very thin at center. It came in the same game that center Alex Kovalev was benched for nearly the entire third period against Boston. Kovalev, the All-Star Game MVP, has just seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last 14 games, his personal slide coinciding with Montreal’s — the Habs have lost five of their last six contests to drop 18 point off the pace of the Northeast Division-leading Bruins.

Carbonneau said the Russian has to step up his game if Montreal has any hope of catching Boston.

“We’re trying to get out of a situation that is not easy, and until we get 20 guys playing, it’ll be tough,” Carbonneau told reporters before adding that he plans to speak to Kovalev regarding his recent troubles. “Alex is a professional. He’s not a rookie. Right now, he’s struggling, but we need him [if we're going to] go far.”

Boston has now won four straight contests against Montreal after dropping 12 regular-season games in a row to the Habs, who are next in action Tuesday against Pittsburgh – bet on the game at WagerWeb.com.

The bad news doesn’t stop there. Habs left wing Gillaume Latendresse had to be helped from the ice at 17:28 of the third Sunday after he crashed into the end boards. The official word from the Canadiens is an upper-body injury. He could miss at least a month.

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Ex-Cub Hill could be worth gamble for Orioles

When you are a team like the Baltimore Orioles, stuck in the same division with the big-spending Red Sox and Yankees and suddenly good Rays, you have to take chances to get competitive. And that’s what Baltimore did on Monday in acquiring left-handed pitcher Rich Hill from the Cubs.

Bet on Orioles futures at WagerWeb.com.

This could be a great move for the O’s, who get a guy who was one of the rising young pitching stars in baseball in 2007 when he went 11-8 with a 3.92 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 195 innings that season. But Hill experienced a rash of control problems that sent his career from starting a game in the 2007 NL division playoffs to Triple-A Iowa last May. His wildness continued into the minors, as he walked 44 batters in 47 2/3 innings in 13 starts at three different levels. Overall, he went 4-7 with a 5.85 ERA in those 13 outings.

Seeking to correct his problems, Hill traveled to Venezuela this winter, but in nine games for Tigres de Aragua, the left-hander surrendered 23 hits and 23 walks in 21 innings. Overall, he was 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA. Hill was out of options for the Cubs, who either had to keep him on the 40-man roster or potentially lose him for nothing.

“We’ve been talking to the Cubs about Rich for at least a few weeks now,” said Andy MacPhail, Baltimore’s president of baseball operations and a former Cubs boss. “His ability speaks for itself and what he was able to accomplish with the Cubs, and we’re hopeful that with the presence of two of his former pitching coaches, we can get him back to where he was in 2007.”

The Orioles, who still have a couple of spots open in their rotation, are hoping that Hill will rediscover his command in reuniting with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Alan Dunn. Kranitz was Hill’s pitching coach at Triple-A Iowa in 2005 and Dunn coached Hill at Double-A Tennessee in 2005 and Triple-A Iowa in 2006.

This move isn’t exactly going to make Baltimore a contender in baseball’s best division, but it’s the kind of gamble that is low-risk, high-reward – just the type of thing this franchise needs to rely on.

MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com

Kaberle injury a blow to Leafs’ trade hopes

It’s pretty well established that the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a lot in the way of value that other teams would want to trade for.

But one player who would have drawn big interest is defenseman Tomas Kaberle. I say “would” because he is now lost to the team for up to a month with a broken right hand. While Toronto wasn’t going anywhere with him, now it can’t probably deal him before the March 4 trade deadline to acquire future pieces.

“(Kaberle) ran our power play and he moves the puck better than most defensemen in the league,” coach Ron Wilson said.

Kaberle has two more seasons remaining on a five-year, $21.2 million contract extension he signed before the 2006-07 season. That’s a pretty good contract in this day and age. The 10-year veteran has a no-trade clause, but there is a window in the clause that permits a trade between the NHL draft and Aug. 15, should the Leafs fail once again to make the playoffs – which is a near certainty.

Kaberle wants to remain in Toronto. But the Czech-born player, who was drafted by the Leafs in 1996, told reporters last month that he would be willing to move if the team asked him to.

GM Brian Burke said he won’t be dealing Kaberle.

“In my mind, if we traded him, we’d be looking all summer trying to find someone exactly like him who can move the puck and doesn’t make a whole lot under the cap,” said Burke. “For those reasons, he should be here.”

Burke also admitted it would be difficult to turn down a similar “home run-type deal” at the trade deadline.

“Kaberle’s skilled, he’s big and he’s a good player,” Burke said. “This is not a player we’re itching to move, unless somebody blows us away with an offer.”

Kaberle almost was dealt last year to the Flyers for winger Jeff Carter and a first-round draft choice, but Kaberle wouldn’t sign off. He has four goals and 26 assists this year.

The Leafs have actually won two games in a row heading into Tuesday’s game with the Panthers – bet on it at WagerWeb.com.

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