Clippers, Martin reach deal
Basketball Betting Lines
02/03/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers made it official with free-agent forward Kenyon Martin on Friday, signing him to an undisclosed contract.
"Kenyon is the ultimate competitor and a key acquisition," stated club vice president of basketball operations Neil Olshey. "We expect that he will provide additional experience, passion and professionalism, as well as some important depth to our front court."
Martin played for the Xinjiang Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association during the NBA lockout, and was contractually obligated to wait until the end of the Tigers' season before returning to the NBA. He was cleared to play by FIBA, basketball's international governing body, on Thursday.
Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 48 games last season with the Denver Nuggets.
The 6-foot-9 Cincinnati product has averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 654 games with Denver and the New Jersey Nets.
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Eaton capped his 600th NHL game with the winner at the 2:35 mark of overtime to lift the New York Islanders past Ottawa, 2-1, at Scotiabank Place. Eaton was in the right place at the right time
<< Ridnour's trey lifts T'Wolves over Nets
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Ridnour made the go-ahead three-pointer
with 1:23 remaining, as the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the New Jersey
Nets, 108-105.
Nikola Pekovic added 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves
<< Monaco and Chela advance to the semis at the VTR Open
Vina del Mar, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio
Chela were both winners on Friday and advanced to the semifinals at the VTR
Open tennis event.
Monaco, the No. 1 seed from Argentina, overcame a first-set
<< Raptors bounce back with win over Wizards
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leandro Barbosa netted 19 points to lead a
balanced offensive attack as the Toronto Raptors handled the Washington
Wizards, 106-89, at Air Canada Centre.
Amir Johnson had a double-double with 18
<< Sixers wilt in fourth, can't beat Heat
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 26 points
as the Miami Heat used a dominant fourth quarter to take a 99-79 decision over
the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
LeBron James added 19 points and 12
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Clemmensen turned away 20 shots and the Florida Panthers expanded their lead in the Southeast Division with a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at BankAtlantic Center. Kris Versteeg and Sean Ber
Durant powers Thunder past Grizzlies >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant scored 36 points, including
the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute, as the Oklahoma City Thunder
rallied late to take down the Memphis Grizzlies, 101-94, on Friday.
Durant also ha
Pistons top Bucks to halt slide >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pistons had lost a season-high seven
straight entering Friday's matchup with the Bucks, who were in the midst of a
season-long three-game win streak. Then, something gave.
Behind a career-high 26
Martin leads balanced attack as Rockets top Suns >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin led seven Houston players in
double-digit scoring with 16 points, as the Rockets used their balanced attack
to beat the Phoenix Suns, 99-81.
Luis Scola had 14 points and eight rebounds for
Halak, Blues shut down Kings >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaroslav Halak stopped all 22 shots he faced
to post his fifth shutout of the season as St. Louis edged Los Angeles, 1-0,
at Scottrade Center.
Jamie Langenbrunner's second-period tally stood as the decid
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.