10/02/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA released the results of a review of the league's embattled officiating program Thursday in the wake of the Tim Donaghy scandal.
Donaghy, a former NBA referee, received a 15-month prison sentence for his role in betting on NBA games.
Lawrence B. Pedowitz, a former chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, was appointed by the NBA to review the officiating program and make recommendations.
Following a 14-month investigation, Pedowitz recommended significant changes, but found no evidence of illegal activity by any referees other than Donaghy.
The 116-page report recommended strengthening the NBA's anti-gambling rules, improving the enforcement of these rules and creating a "culture of compliance" among all league and team employees, including through the reorganization of the management of the referee program and the creation of an anonymous hotline for gambling information.
The report also said the league should increase monitoring of games for suspicious activity, and should increase efforts to eliminate the perception of referee bias by making more information available about the referee program and increasing access to the referees by fans and media.
"We are very appreciative of the effort by Mr. Pedowitz and his staff considering the extraordinary nature of the review," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "Mr. Pedowitz, who together with his team conducted approximately 200 interviews, was given the broadest possible mandate and was provided unfettered access to our employees, records, data and video library to ensure the independence and thoroughness of his report.
"We welcome the recommendations from Mr. Pedowitz in areas where we can improve -- all of which will be adopted, and many of which have already been adopted, including the hiring of Army Major General (Ret.) Ronald L. Johnson as the senior vice president, referee operations. These measures are a beginning, not an end. We know that the NBA's success hinges on the integrity of our sport and on competition that allows teams to win based on their own skill and performance. We expect nothing less from our referees than the highest level of accuracy, professionalism and integrity."
Meanwhile, Stern has also asked Pedowitz to review the new program at the end of the upcoming season.
"I have asked Mr. Pedowitz to continue his service by reviewing our program at the end of the season to ensure that it comports with his recommendations and aspires to the highest levels of integrity."
<< Woodbine to host pair of Challenge races
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Breeders' Cup Challenge races take
center-stage for Saturday's Woodbine card. The $2 million Pattison Canadian
International and the $1 million E.P. Taylor Stakes will both be contested on
Woodbin
<< Peng reaches Tashkent quarters
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Chinese Shuai Peng
led Thursday's charge into the quarterfinals at the $145,000 Tashkent Open.
Peng handled Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus 6-1, 7-5 on the hardcourts at
Tashken
<< Ferrer, Roddick advance in Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds David Ferrer and Andy Roddick were
among Thursday's third-round winners at the $869,000 Japan Open Tennis
Championships.
The reigning Tokyo champion Ferrer rallied to top Japanese
<< Wozniacki advances in Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, the top seed,
blasted Japanese wild card Ayumi Morita, 6-2, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals
of the $175,000 Japan Open Tennis Championships.
Wozniacki, who already has two tit
Percival left off Rays' ALDS roster >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays
have opted to leave closer Troy Percival off their American League Division
Series roster.
Percival has battled a myriad of injuries in the second half of t
Best in the Big Ten >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just a few short weeks ago, the Big Ten
was Ohio State's conference to lose. Fast forward just one month, and it isn't
the Buckeyes that have a stranglehold on the Big Ten, but rather Penn State
that has show
CC goes on short rest again, as Brewers try to pull even with Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia goes on short rest for the fourth straight
time this evening, when the Milwaukee Brewers try to even up their best-of-
five National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies at
Citizens Bank Park.
Dodgers hope to take 2-0 lead in best-of-five NLDS with Cubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to take a commanding two games
to none lead in their best-of-five National League Division Series with the
Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
In Game 1 of this set on Wednesday, James Loney clubbed
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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