1. Yao Ming’s season ending injury. My first reaction – wow, that sucks. My second reaction – with Rick Adelman at the helm, the team isn’t going to struggle as much as people think. That should create some value as the public over-reacts.

2. Scott Kazmir needed an MRI on his elbow. Ouch. I am relatively bullish on the Rays, and I think that there is very big value in playing the over on their season total. A lot of that value would evaporate if Kazmir isn’t okay. Thankfully, the MRI didn’t turn up anything.

3. Barry Bonds. The word is that no one seems interested in him, but I don’t buy that for a second. The guy is scum, but his OPS was 1.065 last year. That’s ridiculously good. Sooner or later some team is going to admit that they are interested, they are going to bring himin, and, sadly, they are going to be significantly better for it.

4. Tennessee. You finally get to number one, and then you let it all slip away with a lackluster effort and a loss at Vanderbilt? Oops.

5. NHL trading day. I love what Dallas did in adding Brad Richards. The West is going to be very tough. Pittsburgh took a huge gamble by trading away a ton of young talent for Marian Hossa, but I like the gamble, and I think it will comedown to them and New Jersey in the East.

6. Ottawa Senators. They fired coach John Paddock today. Wow. Remember at the start of the year when they couldn’t lose if they tried? What a wasted opportunity it looks like this season is going to be.

7. Jamaal Magloire signed with Dallas as a free agent. he hasn’t been anywhere near his former All-Star caliber recently, but he’s only 29 and he needs a better situation. This could be it. This makes Dallas significantly better in my eyes. Just what we needed – a Western conference that is even tougher.

8. Drake lost to Missouri State. The Bulldogs are a great story, but this game is an example of why I am going to find it hard to trust in the postseason.

9. Derrick Rose. Memphis’ stud frosh point guard missed practice on Monday with the flu, and is listed as questionable tonight against Tulsa. I will be filing away if and how he plays as an indicator of his heart and grit. Further, I’ll be looking to see how Rose’s whole team bounces back from a disheartening setback. Bettertha Tennessee bounced back from the win, I hope.

10. Congress is after Clemens again. What would it take to make this whole ugly, depressing thing just go away?

Post from: Ultra Sports Bet

Winner of the three-point shootout - Daniel Gibson – 7/2 – Gibson played in the Rookie Challenge on Friday night and he nailed 11 threes. It would appear that he is pretty dialed in. He seems like as good a bet as any.

Slam Dunk contest – Rudy Gay – 7/2 – This contest is completely wide open. Gay is the longest shot on the board, he is very talented, and he has been working hard to prepare on Youtube. He seems like he is worth a shot at the price.

MVP – Chris Bosh – 20/1 – I’m not saying that Bosh is likely to win, but he was very determined to make the game (his video campaign to get in was brilliant and hilarious), he is underappreciated, and he has the skills. He seems like an overlay at this price.

Post from: Ultra Sports Bet

The public noticed this news and they panicked. The line was sitting with Orlando as four point favorites.  As soon as the plane woes emerged the line jumped to 8.5 points almost immediately, and to 9.5 points by tip-off.

Why did the line move so much? The public figured that the team would be affected negatively (obviously quite affected) by the hassle and confusion of the travel problems, and that they wouldn’t be properly prepared. While that may be the case if you or I was traveling, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense here. These guys travel for a living, and they do it on planes designed for their every comfort.  It’s not like they had to ride to Orlando squished into a school bus. This kind of a change would be nothing more than a mild annoyance for an NBA squad. It might make me consider whether I wanted to back the Cavs if the line didn’t move and their perceived edge was slight, but it certainly isn’t worth 5.5 points. That meant that the Cavs, a team that is playing well anyway (16 wins in 22 games before Orlando), suddenly had a ton of value fall into their laps.

In the end the Cavs rebounded nicely and had a nice seven point win against Orlando.

The lesson here is pretty clear – if you see a sudden and bizarre line movement, take the time to explain why it happened. If the logic doesn’t make sense you probably have a prime betting opportunity.

Post from: Ultra Sports Bet