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Surreal draft night in PortlandBasketball Betting Lines06/24/2010 - PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -There were rumors the Portland Trail Blazers were going to make a big move on draft night. What happened was downright surreal. A report surfaced less than an hour before the draft started that general manager Kevin Pritchard had been fired - but was still going to be involved in the draft process. The Blazers immediately went into lockdown and no one would comment - even off the record - on the dismissal. Pritchard was sequestered in the so-called war room. A sampling of representatives for current Blazers players were in the dark, having only heard the rumors. In the meantime, Portland conducted a solid, but lackluster, draft. First the Blazers selected Memphis swingman Elliot Williams with the 22nd pick. Williams averaged 17.9 points, four rebounds and 3.8 assists with the Tigers last season as a sophomore after transferring from Duke. The Blazers also traded forward Martell Webster to Minnesota in exchange for forward Ryan Gomes and 16th overall pick Luke Babbitt of Nevada. And finally, Portland selected Nevada guard Armon Johnson with the 34th pick in the NBA draft. Johnson averaged 15.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists with the Wolf Pack last season as a junior. When it was all over, the Blazers confirmed it. Pritchard, a fan-friendly GM who had ushered the team out of the Jail Blazers era, was ``relieved of his duties.'' Pritchard ducked out of the Blazers' practice facility without commenting. ``Parting ways with a popular general manager is not something we take lightly,'' billionaire owner Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, said in a statement. ``In the end, we decided to make a change.'' The picks Pritchard helped to make Thursday night could figure into a bigger deal when free agency opens on July 1 - a deal that will be made without him. Babbitt, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward, averaged 21.9 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Wolf Pack before deciding to leave school after his sophomore year. He was the highest pick out of Nevada since Kirk Snyder was selected at No. 16 in 2004. Gomes spent the past three seasons in Minnesota after coming over from Boston in the Kevin Garnett trade. He averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds last season. After transferring from Duke, Memphis native Williams was able to play for the Tigers last season because he was granted a hardship transfer to care for his ill mother. The last two Tigers drafted in the first round went on to become NBA rookies of the year - Tyreke Evans last season and Derrick Rose the season before that. Pritchard, aware he's been in the hot seat for several months, said last week he would fight for his job, repeating the phrase ``may the best man win.'' So there was speculation that he would make a major move in an effort to save his job. But no such blockbuster materialized. Earlier this week the Blazers were in talks with several teams about deals involving swingman Rudy Fernandez, according to a source close to the negotiations who did not want to be identified before a deal was official. No deal was struck. There also was talk the Blazers are interested in New Orleans' Chris Paul. Portland is in position to make sure a move, because it holds a mid-level exception worth about $6 million, and the expiring contracts of guard Andre Miller and Joel Przybilla, which total about $14 million.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Raptors get Alabi from Mavs
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors acquired center Solomon Alabi, the 50th overall pick, from the Dallas Mavericks in a draft-night deal. Alabi, who played at Florida State, will head to the Raptors, while the Mavs obtain a
<< South Carolina beats Oklahoma in dramatic 12th-inning finish
<< Rangers win 11th straight, sweep Pirates
<< NHL Board approves penalty for hits to head
<< Nets, Hawks swap first-round picks
Suns select Georgia Tech's Lawal with 46th pick >>
PHOENIX (AP) -The Phoenix Suns, working with a general manager who will walk away from his job next week, have selected Gani Lawal of Georgia Tech with the 46th pick overall in the NBA draft.Lawal left college after his junior season, when he averag
Suns exercise option for Gentry, sign 3 assistants >>
Blazers fire GM Pritchard >>
Suns pick up Gentry's option for 2011-12 >>
Clippers get Bledsoe from Thunder >>
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis. Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans. MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
Field 100-1 About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US. To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards. |
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