Pistons enjoying time off

Basketball Betting Lines

02/27/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons are the best team in the Eastern Conference, and currently are enjoying quality time off to rest and regroup.

Detroit is riding a four-game winning streak and hasn't played since a 95-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Flip Saunders' bunch owns an 11-1 mark over the previous 12 contests, and the coach became the fastest in team history to win 100 games with the victory over the Bulls.

The usual suspects are getting it done for Saunders, as Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Chris Webber continue to keep their club perched atop the Central Division. Detroit currently has a 4 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the standings.

Hamilton, who is averaging a career-high 21.5 ppg this season, is averaging 5.0 apg over the previous five contests. Hamilton, who has scored 20-plus points 34 times this season, helped the Pistons to the best February mark (10-1) since the 1989-90 squad finished the month with the same record. The best February mark was a 13-1 record during the 1985-86 campaign.

C-Webb, meanwhile, has helped his new club to a 15-4 record since he left Philadelphia. His demeanor in the Motor City compared to the days in Philly best resembles Lionel Kiddie City's "Turn that Frown upside Down ad." Webber appeared as if someone had died in his family before he left the Sixers, and now he couldn't be more happy. It also helped that Webber was able to pick who he gets to score points for next.

But with all the speculation aside, Webber is averaging 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 18 games as a starter for Detroit. The former University of Michigan standout also has been a positive influence on teammate Rasheed Wallace.

Instead of getting caught smoking weed or causing problems with teammates, Wallace has benefited greatly since Webber inked a free-agent contract in mid January. Before Webber was named a Piston, Wallace was averaging 11.9 points per game with a 41.2 shooting percentage. Now Wallace is posting 13.2 ppg with a 42.0 shooting percentage. Even though the difference is minimal it still adds up in the final box score.

Speaking of Wallace, former Pistons center Ben Wallace made his return to The Palace in Sunday's loss for Chicago. After signing a huge contract with the division-rival Bulls in the offseason, Big Ben was back in Motown over the weekend and was greeted with a healthy mix of cheers and boos.

"Oh yeah, that's what I expected," said Wallace, who spent six seasons in Detroit. "There ain't nothing like a good cheer or a good boo, either way, it's all good."

Wallace finished with six points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks against his former employer. Wallace and the Bulls will return to The Palace of Auburn Hills on April 4 this season.

Detroit will return to the hardwood on Friday, March 2 against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. It will then close out its brief two-game road trip at Memphis on Saturday. The Pistons have the best road record in the Eastern Conference at 17-9.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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