Jazz have what it takes to hold on in Northwest Division

Basketball Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah (35-17) is in first place in the Northwest Division, 8 1/2 games ahead of the second place Denver Nuggets. Led by All- Stars Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, the Nuggets will be primed to make a run at the Jazz.

The Jazz are 2-0 against Denver this season. The Nuggets are scheduled to host the Jazz on February 23rd at the Pepsi Center, while Utah will welcome Denver to EnergySolutions Arena on April 11th in the final meeting of the campaign between the clubs.

All-Star forward Carlos Boozer, who did not play in Sunday's All-Star Game at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, is still sidelined with a hairline fracture in his left leg. Boozer, who was injured on January 27th against the Hornets, leads the Jazz in scoring (22.1 ppg) and rebounding (11.8 rpg). He has recorded 33 double-doubles and has scored in double-digits in 41 times this season.

Utah is 6-1 without Boozer.

The Jazz try to continue their excellent season, as they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at the Rose Garden. It is the first game back for both teams since the All-Star break.

Portland and the Jazz battle in the second of four meetings this season. On December 30th, Mehmet Okur scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Utah to a 96-86 home victory over the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers have lost five straight and 10 of their last 11 at Utah. The Jazz have won five in a row in the series. Portland will host Jazz on April 4th and will visit Utah on April 16th.

Utah enters Tuesday's contest on a six-game winning streak. On February 14th, Deron Williams scored a career-high 33 points and had 12 assists as the Jazz defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-98, at EnergySolutions Arena.

Okur, who played in his first All-Star Game on Sunday, finished with 22 points in the win over Cleveland for the Jazz, while Andrei Kirilenko added 10 for Utah, which has won 11 of its last 14 games overall.

The Jazz are a respectable 14-11 on the road this season. They will visit Anthony and the Nuggets on Friday at the Pepsi Center.

Megasportscasino Basketball Betting News

<< Martin comes up big both on track and off
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Martin won the 2007 Daytona 500. Sure, he didn't get the trophy, the huge check or drenched by champagne in Victory Lane, but that doesn't change the fact that he won the race. In typical N

<< Line of Scrimmage: Norv Turner - Bad Things Happen in Threes
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They're rejoicing in Denver, Kansas City, and Oakland right about now. Norv Turner is an NFL head coach for the third time, having taken over for Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, and the rest of the AFC

<< Lightning try to rebound against Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Tampa Bay Lightning will attempt to avenge a weekend loss to the Florida Panthers when the Southeast Division rivals complete a home-and-home series tonight at St. Pete Times Forum. Florida got the upper ha

<< Rangers, Devils open home-and-home series in New Jersey
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils begin an important home-and-home series this evening, with the first of the consecutive meetings to take place at Continental Airlines Arena. These two games carry importance for

<< Habs entertain Caps in encounter between struggling clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to post back-to-back wins for the first time in a month as they welcome the Washington Capitals for tonight's showdown at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens ended a six-game losing stre

Cowboys sign Gurode to six-year deal >>
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys signed offensive lineman Andre Gurode to a six-year contract on Tuesday. Gurode started all 17 games last season for the Cowboys and was added to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement f

76ers still alive for lottery >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All it takes is a dollar and a dream for a select few to strike it rich in the lottery. But in order for the Philadelphia 76ers to start raking in the loot, they have to bag the rest of the 2006-07 season and start ev

Celtics send Ray to D-League >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics assigned rookie guard Allan Ray to their NBA Development League affiliate in Austin. Ray is the team's first assignment to the NBA Development League this season and the 19th NBA pla

Leopold out four weeks for Avs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jordan Leopold will be sidelined approximately four weeks with a fractured wrist. Leopold, who will undergo surgery, suffered the injury during the third period of Colorado's 7-

Pennsylvania Derby purse increased to $1 million >>
Bensalem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Park Racetrack has announced that its premier event, the Pennsylvania Derby, will now have a purse of $1 million. The announcement was made in a press release on Tuesday. "There's somethi

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.