Love-less Wolves welcome Kings to Twin Cities

Basketball Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without star forward Kevin Love for the next two games because of a suspension and will move on tonight versus the Sacramento Kings from the Target Center.

Love was slapped with a two-game penalty for stomping on Houston's Luis Scola during the third quarter of a 100-91 victory on Saturday. The incident occurred in the third quarter when Love drove his foot into the upper body of Scola, who was lying on the floor. The league office also upgraded the foul to a Flagrant Two. Love, who went into the locker room following Saturday's game to apologize, made a public apology Monday after the suspension was announced.

"I want to publicly apologize to Luis Scola and the Houston Rockets," Love said in a statement. "My intention is to never hurt another player on the basketball court. I've always had the utmost respect for the game of basketball and all of my opponents. I also apologize to my coaches, teammates and our fans for the consequences of my actions."

Love will sit out Tuesday against Sacramento and Wednesday against Memphis. He leads the Wolves with averages of 25.0 points and 13.7 rebounds in 24 games this season.

The Wolves have won two straight and five of their last seven games, and reached the .500 mark with that win over Houston. Love had 25 points and 18 rebounds, while Luke Ridnour added 22 points and rookie Ricky Rubio finished with 13 points and 11 assists. Minnesota improved to 6-8 in the Twin Cities.

Sacramento will try to extend its season-high winning streak to four games when it closes out a brief two-game road trip Tuesday. It posted its third straight win last night with a 100-92 victory at New Orleans, as DeMarcus Cousins registered 28 points and 19 rebounds to lead the charge.

"I just wanted to go out and help our team get this win tonight," said Cousins. "Put all the stats aside, the main thing is we got the win tonight and that's all that matters."

Tyreke Evans and rookie Isaiah Thomas had 20 and 17 points, respectively, for the Kings, who got 12 points from Marcus Thornton and 10 out of John Salmons.

After tonight's game the Kings will return to California's capital for a pair of games and will then head east for a six-game road trip.

Cousins has recorded 16 double-doubles this season, third-most in the NBA this season behind Love and Dwight Howard. Cousins should be able to post his 17th with Love out of the lineup tonight.

The Kings suffered a 99-86 loss at Minnesota on Jan. 16 this season. Love had 33 points and 11 rebounds, while Cousins posted only 10 points and three assists. The Wolves have won four of the last seven games in this series.

Wwnhl Basketball Betting News

<< Durant leads Thunder into Golden State
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are only two teams Kevin Durant is averaging 30-plus points against in his career and the Golden State Warriors are one of them. Durant and the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder will resume a five-game road trip to

<< Li retires, Jankovic withdraws in Paris
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open champion Li Na retired from her first-round match Tuesday at the Open GDF Suez, while fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic withdrew from the tournament, citing a left thigh strain. Bulgarian Tsvetana Pi

<< Bluejays set sights on Purple Aces in MVC action
Evansville, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Knocked down a few of pegs in the latest top-25 poll, the Creighton Bluejays now head to Evansville ranked as the 17th- best team in the nation as they clash with the Purple Aces in Missouri Valley Conference a

<< Buckeyes meet Boilermakers in Big Ten battle
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will try to keep sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference as they welcome the Purdue Boilermakers to Value City Arena for a league battle. This will be the

<< Wildcats and Gators collide in matchup of SEC's best
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked Florida Gators have a tough task ahead of them, as they invade Rupp Arena this evening, to take on the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in a battle between the Southeastern Conference's top two squ

Redd, Suns invade Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns look to continue their dominance over the Milwaukee Bucks when the two clubs collide tonight at the Bradley Center. The Suns won the first matchup of the season by a 109-93 score on Jan. 8 in the deser

Pierce eyes a legend in Celtics-Bobcats matchup >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce is on the verge of passing a legend on the team's all-time scoring list and will lead the surging squad into tonight's showdown versus the lowly Charlotte Bobcats at TD Garden. Pier

Heat battle Cavs down south >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When LeBron James and Cleveland get together, it's always a little extra special. James and the Miami Heat will finish a brief two-game homestand tonight by welcoming the Cavaliers and the new face of their franchise,

Devils aim to keep rolling against East-leading Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils have matched their longest winning streak of the season and will try to keep rolling tonight, when they face the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Devils have u

Panthers, Caps again do battle for first place >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Another battle for first place in the Southeast Division is on tap tonight, as the Washington Capitals host the Florida Panthers at the Verizon Center. Florida enters tonight with a one-point lead over the Capitals for the

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.

Credit Card Betting: Sportsbook accepts U.S. credit cards

Online Sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard

MySportsbook.com is the best at processing US credit cards for deposits. Welcome to the most player friendly online sportsbook on the planet!

The principals behind MySportsbook are obviously a management group that understands the players needs as evidenced by their commitment to provide easy depositing with their high credit card acceptance rate and free weekly $10 bets they offer to clients with active betting accounts.

The perks don't end there! MySportsbook offers casino, poker and horses as well. Twice named Best Sportsbook by eGaming Review, this place is rock solid financially so you don't ever have to sweat the payout as you may with some other online bookies operating with less betting volume and client base.

Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!

Reasons to Play There: You have to see their no hitter, cycle hitter and slaughter rule promos for baseball. Worth a laugh and probably a few bucks throughout the MLB season. They offer supersized bonuses of 15% if you up your minimum deposit to $500 or more. Lay -105 on Friday NBA! Contests during the NFL football season!