Miami's Pat Riley returns to bench in Houston

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat welcome head coach Pat Riley back to the bench tonight when they travel to Houston to battle the Rockets at the Toyota Center.

Riley announced before the Heat's 104-85 win over Portland last Tuesday he would return after the All-Star break. Assistant Ron Rothstein took over in Riley's place and compiled a 13-9 mark. Miami is 13-17 under Riley this year.

Riley stepped aside from his duties on January 3rd because of health related issues. He was suffering from knee and hip conditions, both of which required surgery.

Dwyane Wade poured in 25 points in the win over Portland despite suffering a bruised left shoulder. He suffered the injury when colliding with the Trail Blazers' Joel Przybilla before landing on top of him.

He left the game, but did return and had 16 points in the final period. He is not expected to miss anytime with the ailment, and even netted 10 points with six steals in the East's 153-132 setback over the weekend.

Teammate Shaquille O'Neal added 10 points and six boards for the East on Sunday.

In other All-Star game festivities, Miami's Jason Kapono captured the Three- Point Shootout, while Wade repeated as the Skills Challenge champion.

The Heat have won seven of their last eight games to get back to .500 (26-26) and are 4 1/2 games back of Washington for the lead in the Southeast Division. The club currently is tied for seventh overall in the conference with Orlando and is 11-16 on the road this year.

Miami will play in Dallas on Thursday.

Houston is concluding a four-game homestand tonight. The Rockets fell to 2-1 on the stand after an 80-77 setback against Dallas last Thursday.

Tracy McGrady scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Rockets, are 19-7 as the host this year. Juwan Howard scored 14 points for Houston, and Shane Battier added 11 points.

McGrady represented Houston in Las Vegas over the weekend and had eight points and 11 assists in the West's win.

Houston center Yao Ming was voted into the game, but didn't play and is still expected to miss another 2-3 weeks because of a fracture bone under his right knee.

The Rockets are currently fifth overall in the west and are 10 1/2 games off the pace in the Southwest Division.

Houston captured the first meeting between the two teams this year to snap a two-game overall losing streak in the series. The Rockets, though, have dropped four of their last six at home against Miami.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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