Wizards try to pick up road victory in Houston
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01/27/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards have had trouble the past two
seasons playing well on the road and look to avoid an 0-8 start as the guest
tonight against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
The Wizards will play two straight and four of their next five games on the
road and are off to their worst start away from home (0-7) since losing the
first 25 road games last season. They are coming off a home win over the
Charlotte Bobcats, a 92-75 triumph Wednesday at the Verizon Center in the
debut of interim head coach Randy Wittman.
Nick Young scored 20 points and Andray Blatche posted 17 and 10 rebounds, a
day after head coach Flip Saunders was fired in the midst of a 2-15 start.
Wittman was a lead assistant for Saunders, who was just 51-130 in two-plus
seasons as the team's head coach.
"I can't honestly say we needed a new voice. We just needed somebody to
actually check us like Wittman did. That's what we needed," said Blatche.
John Wall netted 12 points and JaVale McGee posted six and 10 boards in a
winning effort, helping the Wizards halt a three-game slide and improve to
3-15 on the season. It was Washington's second win in nine tries. The Wizards
lucked out that Charlotte was minus leading scorers Gerald Henderson and D.J.
Augustin.
The Wizards will also visit Charlotte before hosting Chicago, then will hit
the road again for back-to-back contests in Orlando and Toronto. They didn't
post their first road win of the 2010-11 campaign until Feb. 13 at the Cavs.
Houston will try to get back on track after having a season-high seven-game
winning streak cut short with Wednesday's 105-99 loss versus Milwaukee in the
opener of a four-game homestand.
Kevin Martin pumped in a game-best 29 points and Samuel Dalembert recorded a
double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds for the Rockets, who had also won
five in a row as the host and fell to 7-2 in Space City.
"We gave up 63 points in the second half. There's no excuse for that," said
Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "We had a great second quarter followed by a poor
third quarter and then we couldn't ... we just never got any momentum in that
game until late but when we started defending again it was too late."
A 20-0 burst bridging almost five minutes in the third and fourth quarters
proved to be the difference for the Bucks, as they turned a 70-66 deficit into
an 86-70 lead with 8:55 to go in the fourth. Houston, which got 18 points and
eight boards from Luis Scola, dropped its first home game to Milwaukee since
November 2, 1999 and was riding its longest winning streak since a 22-game run
back in the 2007-08 campaign.
The Rockets will also host New York and Minnesota on the residency. The
Rockets will try to keep Washington under the 90-point mark since they have
won 18 straight games when doing so.
Houston defeated Washington, 114-106, on Jan. 16 this season in D.C. and got
25 points and eight assists from Martin. Dalembert had 20 points and seven
rebounds for the Rockets, who are 11-2 in the last 13 matchups in this series.
Washington has lost two straight, 15 of 17 and 18 of its last 21 road
encounters with the Rockets.
<< Hawks resume road trip in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to bounce back from a miserable
showing their last time out tonight when they continue a five-game road trip
against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace in Auburn Hills.
Atlanta seemed lost at times on
<< Villanova promotes Crocker to defensive coordinator
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villanova head football coach Andy Talley
announced Friday the promotion of Billy Crocker from linebackers coach to
defensive coordinator.
Talley also announced the hiring of Roc Bellantoni as defensive line
<< Tiger two behind Olesen in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods posted a three-
under 69 Friday to move within two strokes of the lead after two rounds of the
Abu Dhabi Championship.
Woods, who is playing this event for the first time, had f
<< Djokovic rallies past Murray to reach Aussie Open final
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic will play for a second
straight Australian Open title after rallying for a thrilling five-set
semifinal win over Andy Murray in a rematch of last year's final.
Djokovic blitzed Murray in
<< Despite defections, plenty of talent still on hand for Pro Bowl
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A select number of the NFL's best players will be making a
trip to Hawaii to participate in this Sunday's AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, though the
league's annual all-star game will be lacking some of its star power once again
due to a v
Magic try to rebound against Hornets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For three quarters last night it appeared the Orlando Magic
had erased all the memories of their worst shooting performance in franchise
history in a rematch with the Boston Celtics.
But a lousy final period sent the Magic
Improved Pacers try to pass another test in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers try to follow up their biggest win of
the season tonight when they head to Boston to face the Celtics at TD Garden.
Indiana picked up a big win over the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls
on Wednes
Thunder, Warriors collide in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Western Conference-leading Thunder will kick off a
three-game road trip tonight when they visit Oakland to take on the Golden
State Warriors.
The Thunder (15-3) won their third straight game and for the 11th
Blazers welcome Suns to Rip City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blazers haven't been much of a threat away from Rip
City this season but things have been far different when they are hitting the
hardwood in the Pacific Northwest.
Portland will shoot for its sixth straight win a
Nuggets aim to stay hot vs. Raptors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Denver Nuggets aim for a sixth straight win
tonight when they host a Toronto team that expects to be without leading
scorer Andrea Bargnani.
The Nuggets are fresh off a brilliant 5-0 road trip tha
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Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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