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03/18/2010 -
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Every time Brad Stevens walks into Hinkle Fieldhouse, he peers into the rafters.
There he sees the overflowing banners listing conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances and quickly realizes what Butler has become: A national model for mid-major schools.
But even with all the attention and success, the third-year coach understands this NCAA tourney will be different for the blue-collar Bulldogs. His team is no longer a surprise, seeded fifth in the West Region, and takes the nation's longest winning streak, 20 games, into Thursday's first-round contest against UTEP.
``I've never been a part of anything like that, and I've been a part of some pretty special things here,'' Stevens said after win No. 20 brought his second Horizon League tourney title in three years.
Stevens and his players admit they're not thinking about 'The Streak' because there's so much work still to do.
They're motivated to make amends after last year's first-round exit - a 75-71 loss to LSU - despite playing with three freshmen starters and struggling late in the season.
Now, a year older, a year wiser and with a far stronger finish, Butler wants to recreate some of its postseason magic.
In 2003, the Bulldogs became the tournament darling after upsetting Louisville in the second round. They were also the biggest impediment to Florida's Final Four run in 2000 and the Gators' second national championship run in 2007.
And this year, the Bulldogs (28-4) have a resume that would make the nation's biggest programs proud.
- They are the only Division I team with a perfect conference record, last losing Dec. 22 at Alabama-Birmingham.
- They won a fourth straight league title by a record six games and nearly set a new record for victory margin in the conference title game. Second-seeded Wright State made its final basket to trim the margin to 25, the record is 26.
- Butler won eight of its last nine games by at least nine points, the only exception coming at Valparaiso when conference player of the year Gordon Hayward sat out with a sore back.
- Three of their four losses came to NCAA tourney teams - Clemson, Georgetown and Minnesota - none of them at home.
- Plus, the Bulldogs defeated three NCAA teams - Big Ten champion Ohio State, Metro Atlantic Athletic champ Siena and Xavier - and beat UCLA on its last trip to California.
But it's the final sprint that may go down as the Bulldogs' biggest achievement, thanks to an unwavering desire to keep improving.
``It's hard to even think about that (20 straight wins),'' junior center Matt Howard said. ``It's nowhere near where the Connecticut women are. Twenty games, that's a lot, but if you start dwelling on that, it can end real quick. We've just got to keep that focus to keep it going.''
At Butler, that's how you play basketball.
Glamourous titles and individual successes always take a backseat to what's best for the program.
Perhaps it's the reason Butler has never produced an NBA player.
Or why one of the nation's oldest gyms, which has hosted stars ranging from Oscar Robertson to Greg Oden, is best known for its Hollywood role in the movie ``Hoosiers.''
Or why all but the most avid basketball fans would struggle to name Howard and Hayward as the last two Horizon League players of the year.
If the Bulldogs have learned anything this season, it's this: Follow the blueprint.
``We've been through a lot, through wins, through losses,'' sophomore point guard Ronald Nored said. ``Everything hasn't been perfect, but we've been persistent and fought through everything.''
Whether it was the brutal nonconference schedule that took the Bulldogs from California to New York City, the early-season foul trouble that plagued Howard or all those conference teams that know how to defend Butler's offense, the Bulldogs figured out how to win with only one senior starter and one of the nation's youngest coaches.
The 33-year-old Stevens has rewritten the book on success. He has won 84 games, the most ever in his first three seasons breaking the previous record of 82 which was shared by Gonzaga's Mark Few and Nevada's Mark Fox, and he's done it the Butler Way.
Yet after making seven NCAA appearances since 2000, reaching the regional semifinals twice, winning the NIT Preseason Tip-Off title in November 2006, this year's winning streak may go down as Butler's biggest achievement of the decade.
Unless, of course, they win four more, make it back home to Indianapolis and get to hoist a Final Four banner.
``One of the things that's neat about this run is they've brought it every single night and in games where, quite frankly, people would really get on them if they lost, from the outside,'' Stevens said. ``They don't care. These guys just believe in doing the right things. I know this, when we get in the huddle and we're meeting at media timeouts and we're together, we believe in each other and we're going to try to put our best foot forward.''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.
<< Clippers rally past Bucks to snap eight-game skid
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kaman scored 20 points and the Los
Angeles Clippers surged in the fourth quarter to snap an eight-game skid with
a 101-93 win over the Bucks.
Drew Gooden totaled 16 points and 11 rebounds for t
<< Warriors rally from 21 down to top Hornets
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Tolliver registered a career-high 30
points, as the Warriors rallied from down 21 late in the third quarter for a
131-121 triumph over the New Orleans Hornets.
Monta Ellis scored 28 points and t
<< Wozniacki reaches Indian Wells semis
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caroline Wozniacki gutted out a three-set
victory late Wednesday to reach the semifinals at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas
Open.
The native of Denmark, who was last year's U.S. Open runner-up and entere
<< Rockies closer Street likely to start season on DL
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street is
likely to start the upcoming season on the disabled list due to a right
shoulder injury.
Street underwent an MRI Wednesday and has been experiencing sor
Blues' playoff odds getting longer >>
ST. LOUIS (AP) -The St. Louis Blues are clinging to the hope of another miracle run to the playoffs. Time is running short, especially after the latest home-ice failure.The Blues are seven points out of the final Western Conference playoff spot with
Bucs sign S Sean Jones >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed free agent safety
Sean Jones to a two-year contract on Wednesday.
Jones spent the 2009 season in Philadelphia and started nine games. He had 61
tackles, two interceptions and a sac
Magic visit Heat in possible playoff preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals square off in the shadow of South Beach
Thursday when the Miami Heat play host to the playoff-bound Orlando Magic.
The Magic have been on a roll recently and are currently the second seed in
the Eastern Con
Road-weary Hornets visit Nuggets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sole possession of second place in the Western Conference
is on the line for the Denver Nuggets tonight as they get ready to host the
reeking New Orleans Hornets.
Denver is currently deadlocked with idle Dallas for the No.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.
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