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Shaq signs with Celtics

Basketball Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have added center Shaquille O'Neal, announcing Wednesday the signing of the veteran big man.

O'Neal joins a Boston team that returns its core from last season, when the Celtics went to the NBA Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

O'Neal, 38, will provide frontcourt help for Boston, which already added Jermaine O'Neal this offseason. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the Boston Globe reported it is a one-year deal.

Shaq spent last season with Cleveland, averaging 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games but came up empty in his quest to bring a title to the city along with now-departed LeBron James.

"It is not every day that you can add a player of Shaquille's caliber to your team," said Danny Ainge, Celtics president of basketball operations. "His past experience speaks for itself and we believe that he is a great fit for our roster."

O'Neal is a 15-time All-Star and was the NBA Finals MVP from 2000-02 as he led the Lakers to three consecutive titles. O'Neal was also the league's MVP in 2000.

In addition to the three Lakers championships, O'Neal won an NBA title with Miami in 2006 alongside Dwyane Wade.

Since being selected as the top overall pick in the 1992 draft by Orlando, O'Neal has averaged 24.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks in 1,170 career games with the Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns and the Cavaliers.

He also has appeared in 214 career playoff games, averaging 24.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. O'Neal ranks fifth all-time with 28,255 career points, and is 14th all-time in total rebounds 12,921.


<< Rays' Davis named top AL rookie for July
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Wade Davis has been selected as the American League's top rookie for the month of July. Davis led all rookies with four wins during July as he went 4-0 with a 3.03 earned run

<< Bruins name former rival Jarvis assistant coach
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins hired Doug Jarvis as an assistant coach on Wednesday. Jarvis spent four seasons, from 2005-09, as an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens, Boston's perennial rival, including par

<< Union host Crew in desperate need of points
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew travel to take on the expansion Philadelphia Union in a mid-week Major League Soccer fixture at PPL Park on Thursday night. Both teams are coming off disappointing league results thi

<< Chicago's Floyd named AL Pitcher of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for July. Floyd went 3-1 in five July starts with a minuscule 0.80 earned-run average. Over 33 2/3 innings, Flo

<< Toronto's Bautista, Minnesota's Young share AL monthly award
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and Minnesota Twins outfielder Delmon Young each earned American League Player of the Month honors for July. Bautista belted an MLB-best 11 homers during the mo

Giants' Posey named NL Player, Rookie of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has been named the National League Player and Rookie of the Month for July. Posey garnered both awards after leading the NL with 43 hits and finishing third

Diamondbacks call up Rodriguez, send Abreu down >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have recalled pitcher Rafael Rodriguez from Triple-A Reno and optioned infielder Tony Abreu to the same club. Rodriguez was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim i

Cuban-Crane make highest bid for Rangers >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The group fronted by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston businessman Jim Crane have apparently made the highest initial bid to buy the Texas Rangers, according to the team's website. The U.S. Ba

Pirates claim Resop, Park off waivers >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed relievers Chris Resop and Chan Ho Park off waivers on Wednesday. Resop, pitching for Atlanta, allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in two

NHL confirms 2011 Heritage Classic >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League confirmed on Wednesday that a second outdoor game will be played next season, an all- Canadian matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames. The game is sc

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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