Spotify for iOS gets a much-appreciated interface makeover

Spotify gave its Android app a very overdue interface overhaul last year. The iOS version wasn't in quite as dire straits, but we'd still call today's redesign a long-needed modernization that pulls out some of the clutter. Its 0.6 update mostly brings in useful concepts from the Android version, including the always-on Now Playing strip and the seemingly inescapable navigation sidebar. The update also solves a handful of stand-out flaws, such as reflecting the right track on the lock screen -- about time, really. Listeners will need a Premium subscription for more than just radio, but everyone in Spotify-supported countries can grab the update today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video

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Vt. lye victim gets new face at Boston hospital

AAA??Feb. 27, 2013?12:19 PM ET
Vt. lye victim gets new face at Boston hospital
AP

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2008 file photo, Carmen Tarleton is interviewed in her home in Thetford, Vt. Tarleton, the Vermont woman whose face was disfigured in a lye attack received a face transplant. Doctors at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital say 44-year-old Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier in February, 2013. A team worked 15 hours to transplant the facial skin, including the neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2008 file photo, Carmen Tarleton is interviewed in her home in Thetford, Vt. Tarleton, the Vermont woman whose face was disfigured in a lye attack received a face transplant. Doctors at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital say 44-year-old Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier in February, 2013. A team worked 15 hours to transplant the facial skin, including the neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

Dr. Bodhan Pomahac, at podium, with his surgical team, speaks to reporters regarding the face transplant of Carmen Blandin Tarleton, pictured left, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier this month. The 44-year-old Tarleton,of Thetford, Vt., was attacked by her former husband in 2007. He doused her with industrial strength lye. She suffered chemical burns over 80 percent of her body. The mother of two wrote a book about her experience that describes her recovery.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Doctors applaud after Kesstan Blandin, sister of face transplant patient Carmen Blandin Tarleton, read a statement from her sister at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier this month. The 44-year-old Tarleton, was attacked by her former husband in 2007. He doused her with industrial strength lye. She suffered chemical burns over 80 percent of her body. The mother of two wrote a book about her experience that describes her recovery.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2008 file photo, Carmen Tarleton is interviewed in her home in Thetford, Vt. Tarleton, the Vermont woman whose face was disfigured in a lye attack received a face transplant. Doctors at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital say 44-year-old Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier in February, 2013. A team worked 15 hours to transplant the facial skin, including the neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

BOSTON (AP) ? A Vermont nurse disfigured in a 2007 lye attack has received a new face at a Boston hospital.

Carmen Blandin Tarleton's full facial transplant at Brigham & Women's Hospital included transplanting a female donor's facial skin to Tarleton's neck, nose and lips, along with facial muscles, arteries and nerves.

Hospital officials say the 44-year-old Thetford, Vt., woman suffered burns on more than 80 percent of her body after her estranged husband attacked her.

Tarleton's sister said Wednesday she showed "great appreciation" for the gift she's been given.

The donor's family believes their loved one's spirit lives on in Tarleton.

Tarleton has undergone more than 50 surgeries. The latest took 15 hours and included a team of more than 30 medical professionals.

Tarleton once worked as a transplant nurse.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-02-27-Lye%20Attack-Face%20Transplant/id-403c2deaff1047b781baebb11b9d7a92

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U.S. leaders honor civil rights activist Rosa Parks with statue (reuters)

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PFT: Mathieu runs a fast 40? |? But bench is weak

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Last year, the Steelers cut quarterback Ben Roethlisberger?s base salary from $11.6 million down to the minimum of $900,000.? The $10.7 million became a guaranteed payment, with the cap hit spread equally over the four remaining years in Roethlisberger?s deal.

The move added $2.675 million in cap charges to each year of the contract, pushing this year?s cap number to a belt-bending $19.6 million.

As MDS pointed out earlier in the afternoon, the Steelers plan to do it again, without extending the deal.? But with only three years left on the contract, the Steelers can?t take as large a chunk out of Roethlisberger?s cap number this time around.

Once again, Roethlisberger?s base salary is $11.6 million.? The Steelers could drop it to the 10-year minimum of $940,000.? The $10.66 million difference would then be converted to a guarantee, with the amount spread out over the final three seasons of his contract.

This would create $7.1 million in cap space.? But it also would increase Roethlisberger?s cap number by $3.55 million in 2014 and 2015.? With last year?s restructuring, that?s another $6.225 million to be carried in each of the final two seasons of Roethlisberger?s deal.

And with a base salary of $12.1 million due in 2014, it converts to a minimum cap number of $18.325 million next year.

Whatever the Steelers do, they should wait until March 5 to finalize it.? If they reduce the deal before then, Roethslisberger?s cap number would drop out of the top five in 2013 ? and the exclusive franchise tender the Ravens would have to pay to quarterback Joe Flacco would drop again.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/26/tyrann-mathieu-runs-a-4-43-on-his-first-40/related/

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Yemen's ousted leader urges 'forgiveness'

SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? In his first public speech in more than 18 months, Yemen's ousted autocratic leader Ali Abdullah Saleh pleaded for "forgiveness of the past" on Wednesday amid warnings of U.N. sanctions and calls for prosecution of those responsible for the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising.

His speech in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa marked the first anniversary of a transfer of power in 2012 that followed massive protests and sit-ins. With Saleh pictures and flags, tens of thousands of Saleh supporters gathered near the presidential palace, chanting "the people want Ali Abdullah Saleh." Saleh arrived in an entourage similar to the presidential convoy while a top Saleh party politician, Sultan al-Barakani, addressed the crowd by saying, "welcome the brother, the leader."

"We call for reconciliation, shaking hands and forgiveness of the past to build a new Yemen. Forget about the past and look at the future," he told the cheering crowd.

Saleh, who stepped down in 2012 as part of power transfer deal that gave him immunity from prosecution in return, appeared to be attempting to show that he still has the support of the masses, after the United Nations Security Council threatened to impose sanctions on him for allegedly trying to impede the country's democratic transition.

A day earlier, Saleh addressed members of his party ? The National People's Congress ? by saying the Security Council aims at "alienating us from life."

"As for the Security Council ... they want us to leave the country, alienate us from the chairmanship of the Congress party and then they want to alienate us from life," he said. He drew a comparison between his former ruling party and Iraq's ex-ruling party under Saddam Hussein which was excluded from political life by saying, "this is just like what happened to the Baath party in Iraq."

Saleh has been accused of trying to manipulate power through a network of relatives and supporters still in key positions. His successor, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has several times reorganized state institutions, including the military, to remove Saleh's men from their posts. However, the military's loyalties remain divided, posing a threat to the country's stability as it battles al-Qaida militants in southern mountains and other areas.

In his Tuesday's speech, Saleh said his party would contest the country's upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections set for next year. The country's new constitution will be drafted in the coming months, no easy task given the strong separatist movement in the south.

Last Thursday, clashes between security forces and militants affiliated to the separatist movement broke out in the south, leaving four dead. The movement says the area has been marginalized for years and its wealth distributed unequally. The country's north and south were two separate states until unity in 1990.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-ousted-leader-urges-forgiveness-131456918.html

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Justin Bieber Releases Lyrics Video for "Right Here"

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/justin-bieber-releases-lyrics-video-for-right-here/

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Babies Laughing at Dogs: Cutest Video EVER!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/babies-laughing-at-dogs-cutest-video-ever/

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How Much Longer Will Your "Easy" - Search Engine Guide

It seems to be a common song and dance in SEO--once the search engines give the thumbs up to particular link building tactic like blog commenting or guest blogging the spammers come out of the woodwork to use and abuse that tactic for as long as they can. As the old adage goes, if you build a better mousetrap someone is bound to breed a smarter mouse. It often feels like it's Google versus the spammers and I'm not always sure who comes out on top. With Panda, Penguin, the page layout update, the EMD update and many others, Google is definitely trying to put the kibosh on "easy" link building tactics that many site owners have taken advantage of. But even with all the algorithm updates and refreshes it still sometimes looks the spammers are dominating the SERPs and keeping the deserving sites out of the top spots. So what's a site owner to do?

I know that it's very easy to get tempted to invest in some of those "easy" link building tactics because, after all, if it worked for that guy and he's getting away with it why can't I, right? But in my experience those sites that "get away with it" tend to be the exceptions, not the rule. In my opinion it's not a question of will those guys get caught; it's really only a matter of when.

In a recent interview I did with Internet marketing expert Jordan Kasteler we were discussing the idea that Google might come out with some sort of guest blogging penalty, seeing as that's becoming the "easy" link building tactic of the moment for some site owners (even though if you do it right it's far from it!). He mentioned that;

"Some SEOs out there fail to realize that no individual algorithm metric or tactic works alone. There are many signals that all interact together with varying levels of importance based on your mix of signals. There's no one size fits and gone are the days of trying to fool search engines with an array of tactics. I mean, it still works, you can still spam but it's just not sustainable. So unless you're a spammer trying to make a buck, focus on building quality content and a quality brand."

Speaking as a site owner and not an SEO professional, I know how frustrating it is to try and "play by the rules" and do everything outlined in the Google Webmaster Guidelines and feel like you just aren't getting anywhere. SEO is a long term process that builds on itself and sometimes it can feel like you're just spinning your wheels, especially when the competition is doing things with their SEO program that you've always been told not to do AND they're being rewarded for it! It's enough to make any site owner wonder if maybe the competition knows something you don't; that they found a way to slip past the algorithm and exploit the loopholes for their own profit. Maybe if you revere engineered their SEO program you'd find the loopholes too...

But here's my take on it--if you really, really want to invest in the "easy" link building tactics (the ones that get used, abused and spammed to death) test it out on a site that doesn't matter and not one that is your livelihood. If you're a small business owner you can't afford to take the chance that you might get caught. If your website is penalized and you lose 1/2 your traffic overnight how will you pay your mortgage? Your car payments? Your college tuition bills? In my mind, putting my family at risk isn't worth any short term gain that might be had from a spammy SEO program. Is three months at the top of the SERPs worth 6-9 months or more of trying to dig myself out of the hole after Google catches me in the act? I don't think so.

Yes, link building is time consuming and sometimes frustrating and definitely never-ending. It's better to accept that fact now and move on than spend the next 6 months trying to stay one step ahead of the next algorithm update and keep your website flying under Google's radar, only to spend the next 12 months after that desperately trying to recover from an algorithmic penalty. As Jordan pointed out, spam is just not sustainable. Personally, if I'm going to be investing any time in my link building and SEO program I want to make sure it's going to be worth it in the long run and keep pushing my online business along for years to come and not just the next few months.

Source: http://www.searchengineguide.com/nick-stamoulis/how-much-longer-will-your-easy-link-buil.php

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Man arrested after calling 911 nine times trying to order a cheeseburger

An Indiana man drew the attention of police after calling 911 nine times trying to order a cheeseburger (Reute??

An Indiana man got the attention of local police after he tried to order a cheeseburger by calling 911 nine times.

According to WISHTV, 52-year-old Gregory Jackson Sr. has reportedly had past run-ins with police, but this may be the most bizarre. Jackson reportedly made the nine phone calls in just 90 minutes.

Eventually, New Castle, Ind., police showed up at Jackson?s home and arrested him. Finally, the dispatcher sent police to Jackson?s residence. Though, despite the series of strange calls, the dispatcher was reportedly concerned Jackson was calling, because he hadn?t eaten food in a long time.

A partial transcript of the exchange between Jackson and the 911 dispatcher who spoke with him, according to WISHTV:

Dispatcher: Do you have an emergency sir, because you dialed 911.
Jackson: I dialed 911.

Dispatcher: Yeah you dialed 911. ...

Dispatcher: OK, so why did you call 911 for, what do you need.
Dispatcher: Do you have an emergency?
Jackson: A cheeseburger.
Dispatcher: Have a good day.

Jackson then called back into the emergency phone line.

Dispatcher: 911, Your emergency.
Jackson: Yes, I just spoke with you. You hung up on me.
Dispatcher: Well I asked if you had an emergency. You said no, you needed a cheeseburger. So we don't take cheeseburger orders.

And still, Jackson calls back demanding a cheeseburger from the dispatcher.

Dispatcher: You know if you give me some information maybe we can try and help you out.

And finally, the dispatcher was on the phone with Jackson when the authorities arrived on the scene.

Dispatcher: You hear them knocking?
Jackson: Yes.

The police apparently did not arrive with cheeseburgers in hand. But they also have yet to charge Jackson over the series of 911 calls. Instead, they arrested him on a separate outstanding warrant for failing to show up to an appointed court date regarding a separate charge.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-arrested-calling-911-nine-times-trying-order-002943552.html

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UFC 157?s Three Stars: Ronda Rousey, Robbie Lawler and Dennis Bermudez shine

UFC 157 completed the rare trick of living up to its intense hype. Who stood out as stars?

No. 1 star ? Ronda Rousey: Is there any better word to describe Rousey than star? After months of Rousey appearing on television, in magazines and on every site on the internet, she showed she's more than a media darling. Rousey not only escaped a submission attempt by Liz Carmouche, but also finished the fight with just 11 seconds to go in the first round. That's a star.

No. 2 star ? Robbie Lawler: Looking at this fight card, would you ever have guessed that Lawler would emerge as a star? Before returning to the UFC on Saturday, he lost three of his last five bouts. He was up against Josh Koscheck, who was eager to get a big win after losing to Johny Hendricks. But the power in Lawler's hands knocked Koscheck out in the first round, and earned Lawler a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.

No. 3 star ? Dennis Bermudez: When the preliminary fights started, the Honda Center wasn't even half full. The UFC's tailgate was still going strong in the parking lot. But as Bermudez's bout with Matt Grice wore on, I noticed the stands filling up. Perhaps they heard about the Fight of the Year candidate happening inside, with Bermudez throwing everything he had at Grice, and Grice not only withstanding the punches but coming back with big punches of his own. They each took home a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.

Who were your three stars from the night? Tell in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-157-three-stars-ronda-rousey-robbie-lawler-143258534--mma.html

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CSN: Ravens WR Jones will be on DWTS

It started with the "Choppa City Juke." Then came a rendition of the "Cabbage Patch." Every time Jacoby Jones raced to the end zone with a kickoff our punt return touchdown this past season -- and he did so four times, including once in the Super Bowl -- Jones had an end-zone dance at the ready.

" I got plenty,? Jones said in October. ?I keep them in my back pocket. I?m trying to get on Dancing With The Stars.? He lobbied again to be on the show when he went on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show earlier this month.

Looks like Jones is getting his wish.

ABC announced during a commercial break of the Academy Awards broadcast that Jones will indeed join the cast of Dancing With The Stars when it begins taping next month. The remainder of the cast will be announced on Tuesday. No word whether the "Choppa City Juke" will be part of the competition.

By the way, right about the time the show starts taping, Jones is due a $1 million roster bonus from the Ravens. He also has a $3 million salary for next season, but the Ravens might try to extend his contract and restructure his deal to lessen the cap hit for this season. In any case, depending on how the show goes, Jones could be cha-cha-cha-ing his way around Hollywood all spring instead of working out at the Ravens' Owings Mills facility.

Provided he's not a salary cap casualty, Jones wouldn't be required back at the Castle until the team's mandatory minicamp in June.

And if his stint on DWTS goes well?

"If he pulls too far ahead," show host Tom Bergeron tweeted Sunday night, "the 49ers will cut power to the ballroom."

Looking for an early scouting report? The Ravens Web site has put together a compilation of some of Jones' best moves.

Source: http://www.csnbaltimore.com/blog/ravens-talk/jacoby-jones-gets-his-dancin-shoes

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High-stakes oil spill trial begins

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? BP put profits ahead of safety and bears most of the blame for the disastrous 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. Justice Department attorney charged Monday at the opening of a trial that could result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of billions of dollars more in damages.

The London-based oil giant acknowledged it made "errors in judgment" before the deadly blowout, but it also cast blame on the owner of the drilling rig and the contractor involved in cementing the well. It denied it was grossly negligent, as the government contended.

The high-stakes civil case went to trial after attempts to reach an 11th-hour settlement failed.

Eleven workers were killed when the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by the BP exploded on April 20, 2010. An estimated 172 millions of gallons of crude gushed into the Gulf over the three months that followed in the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Justice Department attorney Mike Underhill said the catastrophe resulted from BP's "culture of corporate recklessness."

"The evidence will show that BP put profits before people, profits before safety and profits before the environment," Underhill said in opening statements. He added: "Despite BP's attempts to shift the blame to other parties, by far the primary fault for this disaster belongs to BP."

BP attorney Mike Brock acknowledged that the oil company made mistakes. But he accused rig owner Transocean Ltd. of failing to properly maintain the rig's blowout preventer, which had a dead battery, and he claimed cement contractor Halliburton used a "bad slurry" that failed to prevent oil and gas from traveling up the well.

BP has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges and has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses, including cleanup costs, compensation for businesses and individuals, and $4 billion in criminal penalties.

But the federal government, Gulf Coast states and individuals and businesses hope to convince a federal judge that the company and its partners in the ill-fated drilling project are liable for much more in civil damages under the Clean Water Act and other environmental regulations.

One of the biggest questions facing U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is hearing the case without a jury, is whether BP acted with gross negligence.

Under the Clean Water Act, a polluter can be forced to pay a minimum of $1,100 per barrel of spilled oil; the fines nearly quadruple to about $4,300 a barrel for companies found grossly negligent, meaning BP could be on the hook for nearly $18 billion.

The judge plans to hold the trial in at least two phases. The first phase, which could last three months, is designed to determine what caused the blowout and assign percentages of blame to the companies involved. The second phase will determine how much crude spilled into the Gulf.

During opening arguments, BP and its partners pointed the finger at each other in a tangle of accusations and counter-accusations. But BP got the worst of it, from its partners and the plaintiffs in the case.

Jim Roy, who represents individuals and businesses hurt by the spill, said BP executives applied "huge financial pressure" to "cut costs and rush the job." The project was more than $50 million over budget and behind schedule at the time of the blowout, Roy said.

"BP repeatedly chose speed over safety," Roy said, quoting from a report by an expert who may testify.

Roy said the spill also resulted from Transocean's "woeful" safety culture and failure to properly train its crew. And Roy said Halliburton provided BP with a product that was "poorly designed, not properly tested and was unstable."

Brad Brian, a lawyer for Transocean, said the company had an experienced, well-trained crew on the rig. He said the Transocean workers' worst mistake may have been placing too much trust in the BP supervisors on the rig.

"And they paid for that trust with their lives," Brian said. "They died not because they weren't trained properly. They died because critical information was withheld from them."

A lawyer for Halliburton defended the company's work and tried to pin the blame on BP and Transocean.

"If BP had shut in the well, we would not be here today," Halliburton's Donald Godwin said.

Underhill, the Justice Department attorney, heaped blame on BP for cost-cutting decisions made in the months and weeks leading up the disaster. He said two BP rig supervisors, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, disregarded abnormally high pressure readings that should have been glaring indications of trouble.

Kaluza and Vidrine have been indicted on federal manslaughter charges.

Brock, the BP lawyer, said Transocean employees on the rig also played roles in misinterpreting the "negative pressure test."

"It was a mistake made by several men from two different companies," Brock said. "They were trying to get it right. They were trying to do the right thing."

Hundreds of attorneys have worked on the case, generating roughly 90 million pages of documents, logging nearly 9,000 docket entries and taking more than 300 depositions from witnesses who could testify at trial.

"In terms of sheer dollar amounts and public attention, this is one of the most complex and massive disputes ever faced by the courts," said Fordham University law professor Howard Erichson, an expert in complex litigation.

The spill fouled marshes, killed wildlife and closed fishing grounds. Scientists warn that the disaster's full effect may not be known for years. But they have reported dying coral reefs and fish afflicted with lesions and illnesses that might be oil-related.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/high-stakes-trial-begins-over-2010-gulf-oil-204618200--finance.html

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OCZ to Unveil Upcoming ZD-XL Accelerator Optimized for SQL ...

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that it will preview a variety of enterprise storage solutions at next week?s CeBIT 2013 conference in Hannover, Germany. As a renowned global forum, CeBIT represents a great opportunity for attendees to be the first to see and experience the latest innovations in solid-state storage from an industry leader in enterprise SSDs, virtualization, and caching software. OCZ offers a complete suite of storage solutions that address VMware, Linux, and SQL Server platforms, and invites IT decision-makers who are evaluating or implementing solid-state storage in the data center to visit the Company?s exhibit in Hall 2, Stand E43, from March 5th through 9th.

OCZ will unveil the next-generation ZD-XL SQL Accelerator, a culmination of enterprise hardware and software converging as one tightly integrated and optimized solution. The ZD-XL Accelerator addresses SQL Server database applications to not only ensure that the data for this implementation is right, relevant, and readily available on SSD flash when the SQL Server needs it, but also that the data is accessed with the highest possible I/O performance. For simple deployment and ease of use, this tightly integrated, optimized solution features ?implementation wizards? to guide DBAs so they can optimally manage data cached to the flash. While showcasing the ZD-XL solution OCZ will invite enterprise customers to become beta testers for this exciting solution.

Also included in OCZ?s exhibition at CeBIT will be demonstrations to preview the upcoming VXL 1.3 Virtualization Software and LXL Acceleration Software with OCZ?s innovative Direct Pass Caching Technology, which not only addresses VMware but is also optimized for Linux applications. OCZ is one of the few SSD providers with a robust portfolio of virtualization and caching software that combine the power of flash acceleration with the power of storage virtualization. This enables multiple virtual server loads to run concurrently on a single physical host, not only increasing CPU and memory resource utilization, but also simplifying deployment, high availability (HA), and maintenance of the server loads.

The next-generation of workstation PCI Express (PCIe)-based SSDs will also be available soon as part of the Company?s award-winning Vector Series. These drives reside directly on the PCIe bus and will support four PCIe Gen2 lanes providing lower latency to data, faster file transfers and system boot-ups, expanded storage capacities, and an even quicker, more responsive experience over the already blazingly fast SATA 3.0-based Vector Series. The Vector PCIe Series will feature an advanced suite of flash management tools that deliver enhanced drive endurance and data, making it ideally suited for power computing, content creation, and workstation applications.

Join OCZ Technology at CeBIT 2013, Hannover, Germany, March 5th through 9th, Hall 2, Stand E43 from 9:00am to 6:00pm (local time).

Source: OCZ | News Archive

Source: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/ocz-to-unveil-upcoming-zd-xl-accelerator-optimized-for-sql-server-database-applications/

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Colombia to send committee for release of German hostages

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government on Monday authorized a committee of civilians and Red Cross officials to travel to a jungle zone where it hopes two German hostages will be freed by the nation's second-largest guerrilla group.

The National Liberation Army (ELN) said in early February they had captured two German men in Catatumbo, near the border with Venezuela, the second time in a month it seized foreigners.

"They sent us a message saying that if we authorized the Red Cross and a committee that already exists to interact with the ELN ... they would immediately release the two German hostages," President Juan Manuel Santos said.

"I'm going to give the authorization so those German citizens are free as soon as possible. I expect the ELN to honor their word."

The ELN identified the two captives as Uwe Breuer and Gunther Otto Breuer. The rebels initially said they considered them to be intelligence agents because they could not explain why they were in the area.

The German government, however, said they were pensioners traveling in a four-wheel drive through South America.

The ELN is not engaged in talks currently underway in Cuba to bring an end to five decades of war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's largest rebel group known as FARC.

Attempts by previous governments to halt the war ended in shambles and helped energize the FARC and intensify fighting. Santos' popularity has been falling for about a year, in part because many perceive the rebels are gaining ground.

SANTOS' POPULARITY PROBLEM

A poll by Invamer Gallup released on Monday showed Santos with 44 percent of support, the lowest since he took office in August 2010, and down from 53 percent two months ago.

The poll was conducted February 13-20 with 1,200 people and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The 61-year-old president has not said if he plans to run for re-election in May 2014, and analysts say that may depend on the success of the peace talks.

In January, the ELN kidnapped six mine workers including a Canadian and two Peruvians in northern Colombia, as the group stepped up pressure on the government in an apparent bid to be included in peace talks with the FARC.

The ELN released five of them about a week ago, but they still hold the Canadian citizen. The hostages all worked for Canadian mining company Braeval at its Snow mine project.

The ELN has battled a dozen governments since it was founded in 1964 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. Both the ELN and FARC have stepped up attacks on infrastructure this year and last, hitting oil pipelines and power lines repeatedly.

ELN chief Nicolas Rodriguez told Reuters last year it was willing to hold unconditional peace talks to end the war, but refused to end its kidnapping, bomb attacks and extortion of foreign oil and mining companies before negotiations start.

The group is believed to have about 3,000 fighters.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Eduardo Garcia; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colombia-send-committee-release-german-hostages-021207144.html

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S.Africa's Q4 GDP beats forecasts, boost from factories

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 2. Matt Kuchar $1,987,000 3. Hunter Mahan $1,412,965 4. John Merrick $1,296,014 5. Phil Mickelson $1,232,760 6. Dustin Johnson $1,200,125 7. Tiger Woods $1,144,000 8. Russell Henley $1,129,080 9. Brian Gay $1,089,181 10. Charles Howell III $1,087,944 11. Jason Day $1,009,164 12. Chris Kirk $990,013 13. Steve Stricker $940,000 14. Josh Teater $870,934 15. Bill Haas $816,300 16. Jimmy Walker $812,620 17. Scott Piercy $789,592 18. Charlie Beljan $785,800 19. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-q4-economic-growth-quickens-2-1-pct-100001691--business.html

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One In Four Mobile Users Keep Dirty Pics Or Vids On Their Smartphone, And We All Know It?s You

A new survey from software security company AVG announced today reveals that a full 25 percent of mobile users keep "intimate photos or videos" on their smartphones or tablet devices, a surprisingly high number given that only 36 percent said they would be comfortable checking their bank balances from a smartphone screen. AVG surveyed 5,107 smartphone users in the U.K., U.S., France, Germany and Brazil to get a broad look at how pervy we all are.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4RgMwSxbODk/

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HP launches Slate 7 Android tablet with Beats Audio for $169

Mark Spoonauer , Laptop ? ? ? 22 hrs.

The HP Slate 7 is beyond fashionably late to the Android tablet party, but it tries to make up for its tardiness with a very low price. When the device arrives in April, HP?s first Google-powered tablet just announced at this year?s Mobile World Congress will cost just $169. That?s $30 less than the the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. So how does this value-priced device stand out? HP is playing up the Slate 7?s Beats Audio sound and wireless printing capabilities.

The Slate 7 certainly doesn?t look like a $169 tablet, thanks to its stainless steel frame and soft-touch back that?s available in gray or red. The device measures .42 inches thick (about the same as the Kindle Fire HD?s .41 inches) and weighs 13.05 ounces, making this tablet lighter than the Fire (13.9 ounces) but heavier than the Nexus 7 (12 ounces). The Slate 7 has a microSD card slot and microUSB port.

To differentiate its tablet, the Slate 7 is the first with Beats Audio built in, which is designed to deliver richer and more robust sound. According to Alberto Torres, HP?s senior vice president of its Mobility Global Business Unit, Beats really kicks in when you?re using headphones. However, the Slate 7 does sport stereo speakers. As you might expect from HP, the Slate 7 has wireless printing capabilities via ePrint. The app lets you print from most applications.

MORE: Top 10 Tablets Right Now

To differentiate its tablet, the Slate 7 is the first with Beats Audio built in, which is designed to deliver richer and more robust sound. According to Alberto Torres, HP?s senior vice president of its Mobility Global Business Unit, Beats really kicks in when you?re using headphones. However, the Slate 7 does sport stereo speakers. As you might expect from HP, the Slate 7 has wireless printing capabilities via ePrint. The app lets you print from most applications.

MORE: Top 10 tablets right now

The Slate 7 does skimp on some specs for its low price. For starters, the 1024 x 600-pixel display has a lower resolution than the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 (both 1280 x 800). On the other hand, HP says its High-aperture-ratio Field Fringe Switching (HFFS) technology gives its panel wide viewing angles, whether you?re viewing documents or playing Angry Birds Space.

Powering this Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet is a 1.6-GHz ARM A9 dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and you?ll find 8GB of storage on board. The Slate 7 features a VGA camera up front and a fairly low-res 3-MP camera on the back. By comparison, the Nexus 7 boasts a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, though HP claims that its device offers swift performance.

When we asked HP?s Torres whether shoppers will just opt for the faster Nexus 7 or more family friendly Kindle Fire HD for $30 more, he told us that ?we are going to have a very strong value proposition with Beats Audio and that the design is far superior than those other tablets that you mention.? Torres also reminded us that HP ?wants to be the leader in tablets so to expect other price points.? In other words, don?t be surprised to see a larger, more premium Android Slates in HP?s lineup in the not too distant future.

Stay tuned for Laptop's hands-on impressions of the Slate 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/hp-launches-slate-7-android-tablet-beats-audio-169-1C8516739

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Tonic: If You Could Only See

Due to a chain of events that I can't rightly remember, I embarked on a journey today; I began to plow through a wondrous Spotify playlist featuring all the tracks from "Now That's What I Call Music" albums 1-45, in order. Tonic's "If You Could Only See" is but one of the hidden treasures the frankly mammoth playlist contains. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hM17LQntA6g/tonic-if-you-could-only-see

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Falcon Pro for Android Reaches its Twitter Token Limit

Falcon Pro, one of the best Twitter applications for Android, has run into a significant problem. The app can no longer authenticate new users because it reached the 100,000 token limit that Twitter imposes on all third-party applications. This restriction requires any new Twitter application to only have a maximum of 100,000 users at a time.?

The token limit took Falcon Pro developer Joaquim Verg?s?by surprise. He knew the limit would be reached eventually, he just didn?t expect it to happen so soon.

?For the numbers, Play Store tells me 40k users,? Verg?s wrote?on the Falcon Pro Twitter page. ?Piracy is unstopabble, nothing I can do to prevent that.?

Users have suggested possible solutions such as adding license checks, creating additional tokens and creating a new build of Falcon Pro, but?Verg?s doesn?t believe any of these will work in the long term. Therefore, he decided to create a petition in an effort to convince Twitter to raise the token limitation for Falcon Pro. There are currently 1,313 signatures on the petition.

Twitter users can also help out by revoking access to the Twitter applications they don?t use. To revoke access to an app that connects to Twitter, log in to Twitter on the web, go to settings, click on apps and revoke access to any app you don?t use anymore. Doing this won?t ultimately save Falcon Pro, but at least it?ll free up some space for someone who wants to try the app.

Source [Twitter]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gadgetell/~3/mV_znFttMZU/

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'Silver Linings' leads Spirit Awards with 4 prizes

Producers Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon and actress Jennifer Lawrence accept the award for best feature for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Producers Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon and actress Jennifer Lawrence accept the award for best feature for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Actors Kyle MacLachlan, left, and Fred Armisen, center, present Helen Hunt with the award for best supporting female for "The Sessions" at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Actress Salma Hayek, left, presents John Hawkes with the award for best male lead for "The Sessions" at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Producers Bruce Cohen, left, Donna Gigliotti, and Jonathan Gordon, right, pose backstage with the award for best feature for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Director David O. Russell poses backstage with the awards for best director and best screenplay for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) ? The oddball romance "Silver Linings Playbook" was named best picture Saturday at the Spirit Awards honoring independent film, Hollywood's last pre-game show before the Academy Awards.

"Silver Linings Playbook" led with four wins, including best actress for Jennifer Lawrence and director and screenplay for David O. Russell.

Lawrence is the best-actress favorite at Sunday's Oscars for her role as a young widow in a shaky new relationship with a man fresh from a mental hospital.

"The Sessions" earned two acting prizes, for John Hawkes as a man in an iron lung hoping to lose his virginity and Helen Hunt as the sexual surrogate helping him through it.

The award for best supporting actor went to Matthew McConaughey as a flamboyant stripper in "Magic Mike."

In barely three years, Lawrence has risen from a relative unknown to superstar hero of "The Hunger Games" franchise and potential Oscar winner at just 22. Her quick ascent began with another Spirit Awards nominee, "Winter's Bone," which won the top honor at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and earned Lawrence her first Oscar nomination.

Lawrence said she loves independent film for the thrill of freezing with the crew in the middle of the night because they all believe in a story.

"That's why I do what I do. I love that feeling. I mean, I'd rather be warm," Lawrence said.

McConaughey, also a best-actor nominee at the Spirit Awards for "Killer Joe," is a Hollywood A-lister but a relative newcomer to key film awards.

"I had to take my pants off to win a trophy," McConaughey said, adding that five of his last six films were independent productions and the "most creative fun of my acting career, hands down."

Hunt, also nominated for supporting actress at the Oscars, was coy backstage about what she'll be doing before Hollywood's big night.

"I will be eating breakfast and getting dressed," Hunt said of her day at the Oscars, where she previously won as best actress for "As Good as It Gets." ''I don't have any plans, but I'm going to put a dress on."

"Silver Linings Playbook" filmmaker Russell noted that his initial trip to the Spirit Awards was 19 years ago, when he won the prize for best first film for "Spanking the Monkey."

His son Matthew, an inspiration for "Silver Linings" because of his battle with bipolar disorder, was a year old at the time, and was in the crowd to watch his father claim his awards.

"He gave me this movie, so I want to thank him, Matthew, for this movie," Russell said.

"Silver Linings Playbook" centers on the relationship between a man (Bradley Cooper) just out of a mental hospital and a young widow (Lawrence). The film is up for best picture at the Oscars, where Russell is nominated for adapted screenplay and director and Cooper and Lawrence are in the running for the lead-acting honors.

The film's producers said they had expected fellow Oscar best-picture nominee "Beasts of the Southern Wild" to win the top Spirit Award and that they have no expectations of winning the big prize at the Oscars, where Ben Affleck's CIA thriller "Argo" is the best-picture favorite.

But they gushed praise for filmmaker Russell.

"Your brilliance as a filmmaker is without peer. Your spirit of collaboration knows no bounds," said producer Jonathan Gordon.

Russell said backstage that he was thrilled to go the Oscars, or as he called it, the "World Series," but he also has no illusions about winning there.

"Thank God, Monday, I'm going back to work," Russell said. "That's how you avoid the postpartum depression."

Hawkes won the supporting-actor Spirit Award two years ago as Lawrence's co-star in "Winter's Bone," a role that also earned him an Oscar nomination. He missed out on an Oscar slot this time but said that independent film is a "big part of my life, and I'm really happy for that. ... 'The Sessions' is a truly independent film made for very little money and shot very quickly."

Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke's old-age love story "Amour" won for best international film, a possible prelude to the Oscars, where his film is the favorite to win the foreign-language prize and is nominated for best picture.

"I have the impression I am the oldest man in the room," the 70-year-old Haneke joked in a room filled with young filmmakers.

The ceremony was hosted by Adam Samberg at the awards' usual venue, a tent along the beach in Santa Monica just west of Los Angeles. It is presented by Film Independent, a group of filmmakers, industry professionals and cinema buffs. The show was aired later Saturday on IFC.

Among other winners:

? Best first film: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," from director Stephen Chbosky, who adapted the picture from his novel.

? First screenplay: "Safety Not Guaranteed," Derek Connolly.

? Cinematography: "Beasts of the Southern Wild," Ben Richardson.

? Documentary: "The Invisible War," directed by Kirby Dick.

? John Cassavetes Award for best film made for less than $500,000: "Middle of Nowhere," directed by Ava DuVernay.

___

AP Movie Writer Christy Lemire contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-23-US-Film-Spirit-Awards/id-8a38125eb6cd4eb792595607a4547ae0

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NBA Arts and Crafts Handicapping Tip

College Basketball Gambling: Sunday's hot links

A few articles for Sunday's CBB action... UCLA scored 88 points last time out against Stanford. It was supposedly a result of a simplified offense. Cincinnati has lost four of five but is trying to remain positive. Purdue has struggled to score of late but Matt Painter is far more concerned about defense. Michigan used the week off to focus on defense. And today's total against Illinois got bet down from 138 to 134.5 Florida State plans to throw multiple players at Virginia Tech scoring machine Erick Green. Virginia has lost two straight and is in a revenge spot vs. Georgia Tech after losing 66-60 in Atlanta back in early February. The Cavaliers do however have Duke on deck. UCLA's Travis Wear (11.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg) remains doubtful vs. USC. Boston College has won two of its last three -- finally turning a few close games into wins. The Eagles have ACC losses by 5, 3, 1, 5, 1 and 3. Tags: College Basketball

NBA Arts and Crafts Handicapping Tip

Submitted by Stat Intellegince Take a piece of graph paper, and turn it sideways so you?re looking at it like it?s the same shape as the screen on your laptop (short and wide like a cutting board as opposed to tall and skinny like notebook paper). Down the left side, right the names of the 30 NBA teams. I do it by divisions because it?s easier for me to think of the teams in clusters like that. You may prefer alphabetically because it?s easier to look for a certain team. Whatever. There should be at least 30 lines if you have a typical piece of graph paper. If you don?t?find one that has at least 30 lines so that each team will have a row going across. Now, across the top of the paper, write the days of the month. You?re building a calendar. There?s room in each little box to write a number. You should know what month it is?so you don?t have to write F22, F23, F24 if it?s February. Just the numbers should do unless you?re a calligrapher using a very thin pencil point (I write sloppily in pen). You?ve created a grid?with the NBA teams down the left side, and the dates for several weeks going across the top. Now, find a daily NBA schedule. I use the one at ESPN?s website. I?m sure there are plenty of others out there. If you subscribe to the Don Best schedule, you can just use your handy booklet. Use the schedule to fill out your grid. If Atlanta?s playing at Boston on the first day of the month, you put an X by Atlanta, and an X by Boston under the column with a 1. (If you?re starting this today, SUNDAY, you might as well make 24 your first number at the top of the grid?and go 24-25-26-27-28-1-2-3-4 because the month is about to turn). If you?re patient, I?d go back to the All-Star Break and pick it up from 19-20-21 because that?s when the new set of games began. If you want to include a bit more information in your grid, instead of using an X, put an R by the road team, and an H by the home team. If Atlanta was playing at Boston on the #1 day of the month, you?d have an R by in Atlanta?s row in the #1 column, and an H in Boston?s row under the #1 column. The important thing is that the box is filled on the right day?because THIS will allow you to see: *Back-to-back?s *Back-to-back?s that are also the fourth game in five nights or the fifth in seven *Road trips (if you?re using the R) *Extended breaks *Herky jerky stretches where teams are hopping back and forth from home to road (if you use H and R) Me, I use a yellow hi-liter for all the back-to-back spots, and then I draw oval circles around the 4-in-5 and 5-in-7 spots (and anything more brutal than that?which is how I could see a couple of months ago that San Antonio was in a fatigue sequence from Hell when Commissioner Stern inexplicably fined them for intelligently resting their key players). I?m not going to suggest to you that this is the secret key to unlocking the vault of NBA riches. But, it is important information to have if you?re serious about handicapping. It?s silly to NOT know who?s tired and who?s fresh. The more you study, the more you recognize which teams are able to handle fatigue stretches and which teams collapse. The more you start thinking about the big picture like a coach does, instead of just having knee-jerk reactions to the first pointspread you see in a game like too many gamblers do. ?That seems high,? or ?that seems low? changes when you know the fatigue dynamic. At the very least, you?ll trim off some poor risks from your portfolio. It?s better to go 4-3 than 6-6. Ideally, you?ll find some possibilities you hadn?t noticed before. ?There were three teams Saturday night who were playing back-to-back and their fourth game in five nights: Charlotte (+10) lost to Denver 113-99 Orlando (+5) lost to Cleveland 118-94 Detroit (+5) lost to Indiana 90-72 That?s 0-3 ATS as a group, with two double digit non-covers. Now?it was three Eastern Conference non-playoff teams?a subset that doesn?t set the world on fire even in the best of times. Still, a question like ?don?t you think the oddsmakers have already factored that into the line? was answered. Tough to properly gauge how big a hit tired teams will take. The market typically makes a generalized minimal adjustment for a back-to-back?but not team specific adjustments when larger tweaks are warranted. Again, I?m not suggesting you jump willy-nilly into fading any team in a back-to-back. I would strongly encourage you to pay more attention to this than you probably have been. You computer savvy youngsters who were laughing about using graph paper can probably throw something together this afternoon on your laptop while you?re half-watching a game on TV. If you handicap with pen and paper, there?s probably a Walmart down the street. For more blogs by Stat Intelligence, click here. Tags: NBA Stat Intelligence

Bracket Buster Betting Free Play: Albany Great Danes at Fairfield Stags

Submitted by Andrew LangeAlbany at Fairfield -8? Recommendation: #638 Fairfield In most cases, the handicap of Bracket Buster games is all about information and motivation. In the case of Albany, we find a team that isn?t exactly giddy about having to go on the road for a meaningless game. Here's what head coach Will Brown had to say about it... "All I am worried about right now is the America East," Brown said. "I am not going to risk anything for the BracketBuster. Our focus is the America East Conference tournament right now. I want to make sure we are healthy, rested and feel good about ourselves." He went on to add... ?I think it?s a great concept,? Brown said. ?It?s a great idea, but if you don?t play on TV, I would rather have the weekend off. I know a lot of coaches feel that way.? Brown said that starting guard Peter Hooley won't play and that he'll be open to the idea of playing more guys off the bench. The tricky part now becomes can we trust Fairfield laying -8? The Stags are playing good basketball, winning seven of their last eight. They've been off since Monday and don't play again until next Friday so at home they should have at least some focus for this contest. Plus it is senior day for a few players. Worth a shot laying the bigger price against a team that may not show up.? Tags: College Basketball Albany Great Danes Fairfield Stags Andrew Lange

NBA Gambling: New York Knicks Regressing and Passive

Submitted by Stat Intelligence Earlier this season, we invented the KRIB Index because the New York Knicks were playing like they had re-invented basketball (Knicks Re-Invent Basketball). They had a higher number of made treys than giveaways more than 30 games into the regular season?something nobody else in the league could do even one game deep into the season. Maybe you had to be a stathead to love it. But, Knicks fans certainly loved the pop and sizzle the team was showing on offense. Recently, that pop and sizzle are gone. The Knicks are regressing in those key offensive stats, and have grown passive on defense after an enthusiastic start. Recent games where the Knicks have played like KRAP: New York (-1.5) lost tonight to Toronto 100-98 New York (+4) lost to Indiana 125-91 New York (-8) lost to Toronto 92-88 New York (-3.5) lost to the LA Clippers 102-88 New York (-6) won at Minnesota 100-94 (push) New York (-4.5) lost at Washington 106-96 That?s 1-5 straight up, and 0-5-1 against market expectations over their last six games. They?ve been a .500 caliber team since Amare Stoudemire returned to uniform?after being about? 70% team while he was out. I don?t want to suggest it?s all his fault. The veterans may have reached a fatigue point. It?s certain that complacency set it on both sides of the ball after that great start. It?s all added up to a recent disaster. *Two double digit losses and and non-covers (by 17.5 and 30 points) against the playoff bound LA Clippers and Indiana Pacers. *A double digit loss and a 16-point miss against a Washington team that?s been performing at an Eastern Conference playoff caliber level statistically since John Wall returned. *A sweep at the hands of Toronto! Tonight was a revenge game, yet the team was still acting like every night?s a party and there?s no reason to exert yourself for 48 full minutes because that?s no fun. Madison Square Garden was a fun KRIB when the going was good. If the team doesn?t get serious on both sides of the ball soon, fans will be dealing with a lot of KRAP. Toronto 100, New York 98 2-Point Percentage: New York 53%, Toronto 45% 3-Point Shooting: New York 10/28, Toronto 7/18 Free Throws: New York 18/23, Toronto 23/28 1?s and 2?s: New York 68, Toronto 79 Rebounds: New York 42, Toronto 31 Turnovers: New York 16, Toronto 9 The stats looked worse than this before New York rallied to win the fourth quarter 28-21. New York?s recent defensive issues showed up again here with a low number of forced turnovers, and a loss at the free throw line. It was far from a defensive disaster?but the market expected about 95-96 points for the Raptors and they reached the century mark. We see once again a disastrous turnover night on offense. The great passing of the first 35 games or so has completely disappeared. This team doesn?t have the margin of error to live with 15-16 turnovers every time they take the floor. Big game again for Rudy Gay of the Raptors. He?s having fun in Toronto. I?m afraid that the media?s general refusal to acknowledge the superiority of the West over the East caused them to miss the degree that Gay would be stepping down in class. Since joining the Raptors, he?s played six games against Eastern Conference defenses?and is averaging 24 points per game. He only averaged 17.2 this year for Memphis against a West-heavy schedule. It?s like a decent American League pitcher getting traded to the National League in baseball. A couple other early games I wanted to run the numbers from? Houston 106, Brooklyn 96 2-Point Percentage: Houston 53%, Brooklyn 49% 3-Point Shooting: Houston 16/30, Brooklyn 10/30 Free Throws: Houston 8/12, Brooklyn 6/11 1?s and 2?s: Houston 58, Brooklyn 66 Rebounds: Houston 37, Brooklyn 41 Turnovers: Houston 16, Brooklyn 13 The Nets are still getting outclassed by teams who are over .500. And, this loss at home to a team from the West comes on the heels of recent losses to San Antonio and the LA Lakers on this floor. Those are far from embarrassing numbers up above from the Nets though. They won 1?s and 2?s, rebounding, and turnovers. Tough to win when your opponent is 16 of 30 on treys. Houston is making that spread attack work for them. You get the sense that a playoff opponent will come up with something to deal with it after repeated viewing. Not that anyone in the top four is relishing that challenge. Houston is 31-26 for the season now, 31-24-2 against market expectations. Don?t forget that they had that brutal fatigue stretch (a pair of 4-in-5?s in consecutive weeks) that really took the wind out of their sails. If you take out the 1-8 straight up, 0-9 market debacle from that fatigue period, you?re looking at a team that?s 30-18 straight up, 31-15-2 ATS when relatively or very fresh. Strong and significantly underrated. Washington 119, Denver 113 2-Point Percentage: Denver 59%, Washington 48% 3-Point Shooting: Denver 4/22, Washington 11/24 Free Throws: Denver 31/37, Washington 24/33 1?s and 2?s: Denver 101, Washington 86 Rebounds: Denver 36, Washington 49 Turnovers: Denver 11, Washington 18 How about Washington?! They do it again here, as they knock off one of the hottest teams in the league to maintain their recent pace of playoff caliber basketball. Washington is 20-7 ATS its last 27 games. They did stub their toe entering and coming out of the All-Star Break. So, it?s not like they?re automatic every night. But, this was a good sign that the whole thing wasn?t a mirage. I was starting to wonder after the losses to Detroit and Toronto. Though, the more you study the boxscore, the less exciting this win is. Tonight?s victory was keyed by great three-point shooting, mixed with poor three-point shooting from the Nuggets. That?s not great news if you?re a Wizards fan hoping this will continue. Washington allowed 59% on two-point shooting while turning the ball over 18 times. Not exactly textbook. The line may be catching up given that Denver was only -3 here. Washington was +7 in made treys but only won by two made treys (+21 points from behind the arc in a game they only won by six). Let?s keep an eye on this. Some red flags are starting to wave that the party is over, at least when Washington is playing teams who know what they?re doing. They may still offer value against tank job teams or mid-level guys that aren?t bringing peak intensity. Not going to stay up late to write up San Antonio/Golden State and Portland/Lakers. You avid fans are watching one (or both) of those games already. Back with you late Saturday afternoon and in the evening to crunch the numbers in major college action. Wanted to thank all of you who popped in yesterday for that lengthy piece on tips for the average gambler keyed by ESPN?sarticle on Haralabos Voulgaris. I was concerned it might have been too long. But, it turned out to be the most read (and re-tweeted) article here in the blog in quite some time. Off the charts. For more blogs by Stat Intelligence, click here. Tags: NBA New York Knicks Stat Intelligence

Nevada passes bill to legalize online gambling

In the race to legalize online gambling, Nevada just blew the doors off of New Jersey. "We could stick our head in the sand and say we don't want to participate, and theoretically, 49 other states would," he said. "We are ... maintaining our leadership position and putting the best rules in place as possible." ?Tags: NBA New York Knicks Stat Intelligence

College Basketball Gambling: ESPN Bracket Buster Power Ratings

Here are Sportsmemo Handicapper Rob Veno's Power Ratings for Friday and Saturday's ESPN Bracket Buster games. 2013 ESPN Bracket Buster Power Ratings Road Team Conference Home Team Conference Veno Power North Dakota State Summit Akron* MAC Akron -7.5 Stephen F. Austin Southland Long Beach State* Big West Long Beach -2 Iona MAAC Indiana State* MVC Indiana State -4 Eastern Kentucky OVC Valparaiso* Horizon Valparaiso -9 Canisius MAAC Vermont* America East Canisius -1 Pacific Big West Western Michigan* MAC Western Michigan -3 Montana Big Sky Davidson* So-Con Davidson -10 Northwestern State Southland Niagara* MAAC Niagara -5.5 Creighton MVC St. Mary's* West Coast St. Mary's -5 South Dakota State Summit Murray State* OVC Murray State -2.5 Denver WAC Northern Iowa* MVC Northern Iowa -5 Ohio MAC Belmont* OVC Belmont -7 Illinois State MVC Utah State WAC Utah State pk Loyola-Maryland MAAC Tennessee State OVC Tennessee State -3 Weber State Big Sky Oral Roberts Southland Weber State -4 Bradley MVC Illinois-Chicago Horizon Illinois-Chicago -0.5 Wisconsin-Green Bay Horizon Drake MVC UW-Green Bay -0.5 Central Michigan MAC Youngstown State Horizon Youngstown -11.5 Albany America East Fairfield MAAC Fairfield -6.5 Evansville MVC Wright State Horizon Wright State -3 Gardner-Webb Big South College of Charleston So-Con Charleston -11.5 Morehead State OVC Oakland Summit Oakland -7.5 UC Irvine Big West Texas-Arlington WAC Texas-Arlington -3.5 Kent State MAC Loyola-Chicago Horizon Loyola-Chicago -1 Jacksonville State OVC UNC Asheville Big South UNC Asheville -8 Charleston Southern Big South Rider MAAC Rider -4 McNeese State Southland Toledo MAC Toledo -10.5 Loyola Marymount West Coast Cal Poly Big West Cal Poly -8 Sacramento State Big Sky UC Santa Barbara Big West UC Santa Barbara -4.5 Missouri State MVC Eastern Michigan MAC Eastern Michigan -1 Miami (Ohio) MAC Southern Illinois MVC Southern Illinois -9.5 Manhattan MAAC Buffalo MAC Buffalo -4 Northern Arizona Big Sky Hawaii Big West N/A Ball State MAC Southeast Missouri State OVC SEMO -6.5 Northern Colorado Big Sky UC Davis Big West UC Davis -5.5 Southeastern Louisiana Southland Winthrop Big South SE Louisiana -2 Savannah State Mid-Eastern Campbell Big South Campbell -0.5 UMKC Summit Tennessee Tech OVC Tennessee Tech -11 Eastern Illinois OVC Northern Illinois MAC Northern Illinois -3.5 Morgan State Mid-Eastern High Point Big South High Point -9 Nicholls State Southland Texas-San Antonio WAC Texas-San Antonio -8.5 VMI Big South Marist MAAC Marist -9 SIU Edwardsville OVC Central Arkansas Southland SIU-Edwardsville -3.5 Coastal Carolina Big South Western Carolina So-Con Western Carolina pk Radford Big South Siena MAAC Siena -7.5 North Dakota Big Sky Nebraska-Omaha Summit North Dakota -3.5 South Dakota Summit Montana State Big Sky Montana State -5.5 Bowling Green MAC IPFW Summit IPFW -2.5 Wisconsin-Milwaukee Horizon IUPUI Summit UW-Milwaukee -1 Longwood Big South Tennessee Martin OVC Tennessee-Martin -9.5 Cal State Northridge Big West Southern Utah Big Sky Southern Utah -2 Texas State WAC Lamar Southland Texas State -1 Cal State Fullerton Big West Texas A&M- CC Southland Fullerton -4 St. Peter's MAAC Hampton Mid-Eastern Hampton -4.5 Idaho WAC Idaho State Big Sky Idaho -1 Sam Houston State Southland Eastern Washington Big Sky Eastern Washington -3.5 UC Riverside Big West Portland State Big Sky Portland State -5.5 Austin Peay OVC Liberty Big South Liberty -0.5 The Citadel So-Con Presbyterian Big South Presbyterian -4.5 ? Tags: College Basketball Rob Veno

NBA Handicapping: New York Knicks look to bounce back vs. Toronto

New York -1.5 at Toronto O/U 194 The New York Knicks try to bounce back tonight in Toronto after Wednesday's 125-91 blowout loss to Indiana. A database search dating back to 2007 shows that teams that lost by 30 points or more and were favored in their next game went 40-18 SU and 31-26-1 ATS (avg. line of -5). "They?re embarrassed and they should be," said Woodson. "There?s nothing pretty about how we played, Indiana did everything they were supposed to do on their floor and it was pretty much an embarrassment." Tags: NBA New York Knicks Toronto Raptors

Sports Betting Podcast 2-22-2013 with Handicappers Rob Veno and Erin Rynning

Tags: College Basketball NBA Rob Veno Erin Rynning

ESPN's Chad Millman discusses the New Jersey sports betting case

Here's a link to Chad Millman's recent Behind the Bets Podcast with NorthJersey.com's John Brennan. A great listen as the two discuss the New Jersey sports betting case.Tags: College Basketball NBA Rob Veno Erin Rynning

NBA Gambling: Kobe says Lakers will make playoffs, odds say different

Portland at LA Lakers -9 O/U 202.5 Despite being three games below .500, Kobe Bryant seems to feel the Lakers are a lock to make the postseason. They are currently 3.5 games behind Houston for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. According to John Hollinger's numbers, the Lakers have a 32.7% chance of reaching the postseason. One sportsbook had the Lakers -150 to miss the playoffs. "It's not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will," Bryant told Sports Illustrated. "And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone ? Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver ? whoever. I have zero nervousness about that." ?Tags: NBA Los Angeles Lakers Portland Trail Blazers

NBA Handicapping: Bettors come in on Heat and Clippers for tonight's TNT doubleheader

TNT's NBA doubleheader features two good matchups with Miami traveling to Chicago and San Antonio in Los Angeles to take on the Clippers. Note that LA hasn't played since last Thursday. According to Bookmaker, 80% of bets have been placed on Miami -3.5 while just over 67% have come in on the Clippers. Over 75% of wagers were made on the Spurs-Clippers OVER, while 56% preferred the UNDER in Miami-Chicago. ? Tags: NBA Miami Heat Chicago Bulls San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers

NBA Gambling News: Portland Trail Blazers continue to slide

The Portland Trail Blazers just worked themselves out of the Western Conference playoff hunt after losing six straight (0-6 ATS). When asked about their struggles, a few players pulled out the lack of trust card.?Now if by lack of trust they mean their defense has been horrible (108.7 ppg allowed last six games) then yes, trust has been a major issue. Portland?travels to LA to take on the Lakers tomorrow night. "We're not trusting each other," Wesley Matthews surmised. "I feel like lately we haven't been trusting each other," Aldridge concluded, "or overly helping each other on defense." "Our transition defense has gotten a little worse. That was one of the Achilles' heels early in the season," coach Terry Stotts said after Wednesday's practice. "Our pick-and-roll defense has been inconsistent. We have good stretches, but it's not as consistent as we need it to be." ? Tags: NBA Portland Trail Blazers

Alf Musketa's WGC Accenture Matchplay Handicapping Primer?

Submitted by Alf MusketaSnow in the Arizona desert has dominated the headlines early in the WGC Accenture Matchplay Tournament. The PGA Tour will be pressured to get the event finished on time. Next week's PGA Tour stop is across the country in Florida for the Honda Classic, where both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have committed to play. The delays due to the weather are both good and bad for golf handicappers. Good because we know the conditions will be soft, the course will be longer, and the greens will be more receptive and that will favor longer hitters off the tee and players that will fire at the flags consistently and aggressively. This group includes Rory McIlroy, Louis Oosthuizen, Rickie Fowler, and Bo Van Pelt to name a few. The bad aspect of the delays is that the sportsbooks may miss posting matchups in between rounds. There are six matches that are already on the back nine of the first round and after a brief break for lunch, which are usually only 30 minutes, they?ll be right back out on the golf course for the next round. Sportsbooks, especially here in Las Vegas, are notoriously late at putting up any kind of golf matchups and props. Online matchups for future matchplay rounds will be the way to go.? ?? One thing to look for when watching for potential bets in the next round is putting. If a player is making everything inside eight to ten feet, making those key strokes to tie his opponent on a hole, keeping the match score ahead like we saw with Luke Donald a couple of years ago, that is the way to win at matchplay. Also, aggressiveness is something that I want with my wagers ? players with the guts to shoot for the pins, especially when they trail. Smart aggressive play will get the job done.? ?? I was at this event on Monday and Tuesday to scout the players and talk to a few contacts. What I was looking for were players that struggled on the range and putting green. This field is the best in the world with the top 64 present sans Brandt Snedeker and Phil Mickelson, but there are several players that do not belong here due to weak Tours and competition that they play on that qualified them via World Ranking points. Some of which include Marcus Fraser, David Lynn, Hiroyuki Fujita, Chris Wood, and Shane Lowry. These players and a few others squeaked in this tournament playing European, Australasian and Japan golf Tours. If they played the deep and talented PGA Tour some of them wouldn't be able to keep their cards. Tags: PGA Alf Musketa

College Basketball Betting Free Play: Georgia Bulldogs at Arkansas Razorbacks

Submitted by Teddy CoversGeorgia +11 at Arkansas O/U 131.5? Recommendation: Georgia Arkansas is in a miserable spot tonight.? They?re coming off a lucky, somewhat fraudulent win over Missouri in their last game, outscoring the Tigers 7-1 in the last 28 seconds to steal a two-point victory.? On deck for the Razorbacks?? A trip to Florida to take on the revenge minded Gators.? In between is this game against Georgia as double-digit favorites.? Even head coach Mike Anderson is worried about his team?s ability to focus tonight.? ?I know after Missouri everybody is patting them on the back and saying, ?Great, great win!?? While focus is a major issue for the home favorite, we?re catching the road underdog in a spot where their hunger is very real.? Three different extremely controversial calls went against the Bulldogs in the final minutes of regulation against Ole Miss on Saturday, as they lost an eight-point lead late, eventually losing in overtime to the Rebels. But even in that defeat, Georgia showed why they are a bet-on team in hostile environments.? Prior to the OT loss at Ole Miss, they had won their previous three SEC road games at Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas A&M.? Head coach Mark Fox: ?We have been pretty stable away from home.? I think our defense has been pretty consistent all year and that has been a great stabilizer for us. One of the keys to winning away from home is trying to slow that home team down.? Georgia also has one significant matchup edge against the Razorbacks ? rebounding!? Anderson: ??They outrebounded Ole Miss by 15. That?s something that really caught my eye. Ole Miss is a very good rebounding basketball team. We will have our work cut out for us?They?re a team that will shoot it and go get it. Their guards rebound the basketball.? Over the last five games, Georgia has averaged a +6 margin on the boards, while Arkansas has averaged a -8 rebounding differential.? Expect those extra possessions for the Bulldogs to work in our favor tonight!? ? Tags: College Basketball Georgia Bulldogs Arkansas Razorbacks Teddy Covers

Meet the D3 women's hoops team that got screwed by sports betting haters, the NCAA

Even though no one is allowed to make a legal sports bet in the state of the New Jersey, Montclair State, a D3 women's basketball team, won't be able to host a postseason tournament game because of some ridiculous NCAA ruling. The NCAA must not have received the memo that sportsbooks and local bookies aren?t really into taking action on small school women's hoops. ?Look at the big picture here,? she said. ?This is supposed to be about the experience of the student athlete. They worked hard all season to give themselves the best chance to win, a chance to play in front of their own fans in what would be a great moment for the whole community. ?To take that away from them? It is, quite frankly, a disservice to the kids, to the faculty, to the entire university.? Tags: College Basketball Georgia Bulldogs Arkansas Razorbacks Teddy Covers

Sports Betting Podcast 2-21-2013 with Handicappers Sammy P and Ian Cameron

Tags: NHL College Basketball Sammy P Ian Cameron

MLB Handicapping: Season O/U Wins and Market Expectations

Taking a look at Pinnacle's MLB Season Over/Wins for the upcoming season. We threw in last year's win totals and the differential to get a gauge on early market expectations. Toronto (+16), Boston (+14) and the Chicago Cubs (+11.5) are projected to be the biggest gainers. Baltimore (-14.5), Oakland (-9.5), and the New York Yankees (-7) the biggest decliners. 2013 MLB Season Over/Under Wins - Pinnacle TEAM 2013 Season O/U 2012 Wins Difference ARIZONA 82.5un-124 81 +1.5 ATLANTA 87.5ov-114 94 -6.5 BALTIMORE 78.5un-110 93 -14.5 BOSTON 83un-111 69 +14 CHICAGO CUBS 72.5ov-125 61 +11.5 CHICAGO WS 81 85 -4 CINCINNATI 91un-112 97 -6 CLEVELAND 77.5 68 +9.5 COLORADO 70.5ov-123 64 +6.5 DETROIT 92.5ov-113 88 +4.5 HOUSTON 59.5un-118 55 +4.5 KANSAS CITY 77.5 72 +5.5 LA ANGELS 91.5ov-113 89 +2.5 LA DODGERS 91.5 86 +5.5 MIAMI 63ov-129 69 -6 MILWAUKEE 81 83 -2 MINNESOTA 67.5ov-125 66 +1.5 NY METS 75un-111 74 +1 NY YANKEES 88ov-109 95 -7 OAKLAND 84.5 94 -9.5 PHILADELPHIA 84ov-113 81 +3 PITTSBURGH 77 79 -2 SAN DIEGO 74.5 76 -1.5 SAN FRANCISCO 88 94 -6 SEATTLE 77.5 75 +2.5 ST. LOUIS 86 88 -2 TAMPA BAY 86 90 -4 TEXAS 86.5ov-111 93 -6.5 TORONTO 89ov-125 73 +16 WASHINGTON 92un-117 98 -6 Tags: MLB

College Basketball Betting Update: Can BYU finally cover against a quality opponent?

BYU at St. Mary's -8 O/U 150 Quick update of our BYU Stinks Against Good Teams blog. We last posted following the Cougars' home loss to St. Mary's. Since then BYU went on the road and got blasted by Gonzaga 83-63 as 10-point underdogs. They also lost outright to San Diego and San Francisco and have covered only one game this month (1-4 ATS). Tonight they're catching +8 against the Gaels. College Basketball Betting: BYU's struggles against strong competition continue Last night, BYU lost on a buzzer beater to St. Mary's, 70-69. It marked yet another failed attempt for the Cougars to pick up a marquee victory. Over the last two seasons, BYU has had an incredibly difficult time stepping up in class. Check out the results against St. Mary's and Gonzaga... BYU -5 vs. St. Mary's - 70-69 Loss? BYU +2.5 vs. Gonzaga - 77-58 Loss? BYU +6.5 at Gonzaga - 74-63 Loss? BYU -3.5 vs. Gonzaga - 83-73 Win? BYU -2.5 vs. St. Mary's - 80-66 Loss? BYU +4 at St. Mary's - 98-82 Loss That's 1-5 SU/ATS. And if we include better than average power conference teams, there are even more failures. 2012-13? BYU -2 vs. Florida State - 88-70 Loss? BYU +3 vs. Notre Dame - 78-68 Loss? BYU +4 at Iowa State - 83-62 Loss? BYU +7 at Baylor - 79-64 Loss 2011-12? BYU +5 vs. Marquette - 88-68 Loss? BYU -4 vs. Baylor - 86-83 Loss? BYU +7.5 vs. Wisconsin - 73-56 Loss If we stretch the parameters a little, there were SU/ATS wins against Oregon (infant stages of Dana Altman's first season) and at Virginia Tech (Hokies finished 16-17). Still, BYU's track record against strong competition is downright awful. In those 13 aforementioned games, BYU has exactly ONE win and ONE spread cover. And if you look at the line history, all of those games were competitively lined yet 10 of the 12 losses were by double-digits. The Cougars still have three regular season games remaining against St. Mary's and Gonzaga. Tags: College Basketball BYU Cougars St. Mary's Gaels

College Basketball Handicapping: Finding ways to score the key for Cincinnati

Cincinnati -1 at Connecticut O/U 126.5 You know how some beat writers or SIDs will point out that Team A is 34-1 when scoring 100 points or more ? or some silly stat that is ridiculously obvious. Here's one that isn't. Most of you are aware that Cincinnati isn't a great offensive team. The Bearcats rank 10th in the Big East in offensive efficiency (0.98 ppp) and 14th in effective field goal percentage (44.1%).So it stands to reason that when Cinci does have success it often manages to match or exceed those numbers. But Cinci has proven it doesn't need to shoot lights out or be ultra-efficient to win. Amazingly this team is a perfect 19-0 when it scores 61 points (!!!) or more. The scary thing is the Bearcats have seven losses. Tonight's opponent UConn has held four of its 12 Big East opponents to below 60 points in regulation. ? Tags: College Basketball Cincinnati Bearcats UConn Huskies

NCAA Basketball Gambling: California has had Oregon's number

California at Oregon -5 O/U 138 February 9, 2008 was the last time Oregon defeated California. Since that time, the Golden Bears have ripped off 10 straight (7-3 ATS) vs. the Ducks. In this year?s first meeting in Berkeley, Oregon outshot Cal 47.6% to 35.6% but without point guard Dominic Artis (who won't play again tonight) the Ducks committed 22 turnovers and lost 58-54. ?The first year, they were just flat better than us,? Altman said of games against Cal in his three seasons. ?Last year we had chance at their place, we just didn?t get it done. ?This year we had a chance at their place and didn?t get it done. We?ve had our chances.? ?Tags: College Basketball California Golden Bears Oregon Ducks

College Basketball Betting Trends: Temple Owls like to make things close

Temple has quite a streak?in play?heading into tomorrow night's game against La Salle. The Owls have?participated in?five straight games decided by exactly one point. They are 3-2 SU/ATS in those contests ? all three wins came as underdogs. "We've been in every game, although there are games where you could say we didn't put enough space between," Dunphy said. "As a coach, if you've been it long enough, you have different personalities that go along with each team. We haven't been able to get any great separation, and yet, there's another side to these guys that there hasn't been any quit. I'm equal parts frustrated and proud [of the streak]." ?Tags: College Basketball Temple Owls La Salle Explorers

NCAA Basketball Gambling Update: Minnesota's Williams downgraded to doubtful

Minnesota at Ohio State -6 O/U 125.5 According to Sports Options, Minnesota's Rodney Williams (11.4 ppg) was downgraded to doubtful for tonight's game against Ohio State. We got mixed reports on Twitter ? everything from questionable to doubtful to game time decision to out. Earlier this afternoon, the betting markets came in fairly strong on Ohio State as the line climbed from -5.5 to -6.5. There has been some buyback over the last hour with the Buckeyes now -6 at most offshore sportsbooks. It's actually a significant blow if he doesn?t suit up considering the Golden Gophers' offensive struggles of late (53.4 ppg last five game in regulation). ?Obviously he?s a focal point of our offense,? Mbakwe said about Williams. ?But we have a lot of guys who can step up and lead the team.? ?We need to not only get our points but bump it up to his production [level] to fill in that gap,? Eliason said. College Basketball Handicapping: Minnesota and Ohio State limp into Wednesday's matchup Minnesota at Ohio State -5.5 O/U 126 It's a lot easier handicap a game when one team comes in off a horrific performance rather than two. Such is the case with tonight?s Minnesota-Ohio State matchup. The Buckeyes were destroyed by Wisconsin, 71-49, in Madison. The Golden Gophers were just as bad as a 16-point lead somehow turned into a 21-point loss at Iowa. Needless to say, the key word from both camps following their defeats was "embarrassed." "I think I can speak for the team, we are embarrassed," Smith said. "We not only embarrassed ourselves, we embarrassed our coaching staff, our university, our school president and our fans. We embarrassed everybody. We didn't answer the call. We didn't do anything we're known to do. We kind of abandoned everything?our principles, offensively and defensively." "I told them it was embarrassing," Smith said. "It really is. It was like we had never seen the zone, we'd never practiced against it. I didn't know what to tell them." ? Tags: College Basketball Minnesota Golden Gophers Ohio State Buckeyes

College Basketball Betting: Kansas Jayhawks thinking revenge, backflip

Tags: College Basketball Kansas Jayhawks Oklahoma State Cowboys

NBA Handicapping: Dallas Mavericks in favorable spot vs. Orlando Magic

Orlando at Dallas -11.5 O/U 206 Article on Dallas' propensity for slow starts. Rick Carlisle said the Mavericks have the league's?worst point differential the first six minutes of the game. What Dallas has been successful with is beating teams at home who are on the second night of back-to-backs. In that situation they are 11-2 SU and 9-4 ATS (7-0 SU/ATS streak). Tonight's opponent Orlando lost at home to Charlotte last night. ?We?ve struggled all year with starting games,? coach Rick Carlisle said. ?In fact, we?re the worst team in the league in the first six minutes of the game. It?s a challenge we got to take on.? ?Tags: NBA Dallas Mavericks Orlando Magic

College Basketball Gambling Free Pick: Washington State Cougars at Arizona State Sun Devils

Submitted by Teddy CoversWashington State at Arizona State -6.5 ? Recommendation: Arizona State I posted a free play winner in support of Arizona State in their last game; an outright Sun Devils upset win as 7.5 point underdogs at Colorado.? And there?s absolutely no reason to do anything different in regards to Herb Sendek?s squad tonight; an undervalued commodity for months now. Arizona State has hit 67% against the spread over their last 18 lined ballgames dating back to the beginning of December, including a 75% ATS mark as favorites of 6.5 points or higher ? exactly the pointspread that we find them in tonight.? It all starts with point guard Jahii Carson, averaging more than 19 points per game in his last ten contests. But Carson isn?t doing it by himself.?? 7-2 center Jordan Bachynski is blocking nearly four shots per game, a true low post defensive dominator.? Carrick Felix has already been named the PAC-12 Player of the Week three times this year; a double-double machine. Evan Gordon and Jonathan Gilling are perimeter sharpshooters, combining to hit?4.5 three pointers per game.? And they?ve gotten even better since combo guard Chris Colvin?s return to the lineup following a modest injury absence; their best scorer off the bench. Washington State can?t match Arizona State?s talent or execution levels on either end of the floor.? The Cougars have covered only twice in their last eight tries on the highway; just 2-5 ATS as underdogs of five points or more this year ? not a team to support when stepping up in class.? They?re coming off a particularly disheartening overtime defeat against Oregon in their last game, simply playing out the stretch of yet another disappointing campaign.? Don?t expect a step-up effort tonight!? Tags: College Basketball Arizona State Sun Devils Washington State Cougars Teddy Covers

Source: http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?name=NBA-Arts-and-Crafts-Handicapping-Tip&blog_id=12133

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