Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are one of the league’s hottest teams heading into the All-Star as they had won 12 of their last 13 prior to their meeting in Phoenix with the Suns on Thursday night. In fact, their lone loss was a one-point loss in Denver last Thursday thanks to a last-second shot to by Aaron Afflalo, but they bounced back to win by four in Houston on Saturday, then they blew out Sacramento by 16 at home on Wednesday night. No matter what happens in Phoenix on Thursday, the Mavericks will be second in the Southwest behind San Antonio, as well in the conference standings. Dirk Nowitzki will make his 10^th All-Star appearance in Los Angeles, and he’ll also take part in the Shooting Stars Competition on Saturday night with Roneeka Hodges of the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars, as well as the retired Kenny Smith, formerly of the Houston Rockets.

Dallas Stars

Let the NHL trade rumors begin for the Stars, who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 and have dropped three straight ahead of a trip to Vancouver on Saturday. Their only win was a 4-3 victory in the shootout at home against Chicago last Friday, then they lost to Columbus at home on Sunday, followed by losses in Edmonton and Calgary on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Stars have scored four goals in those three losses, and Brad Richards was injured against the Blue Jackets, making him unavailable until Saturday at the earliest. Some say the vultures are starting to swirl around the Stars, and their fans would think that a trade of Richards would be a white flag on the season, so Dallas is in a tough spot. After the game in Vancouver, the Stars will host surging New Jersey on Tuesday before heading to Detroit on Thursday.

Texas Rangers

Most baseball betting players figured that Michael Young wouldn’t make it to training camp as he stated his unhappiness with the Rangers for turning him into a utility man or designated hitter. But Young is expected to be in camp on Saturday, although the Rangers are still looking at trade possibilities for the 34-year-old, who is being asked to move for the third time in his career by the Rangers. Florida has apparently moved into the conversation, although we all know how fiscal they are, and Young has $48 million over three years left on his deal. Still, Young is productive enough to help any team’s online sports betting odds.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers rebounded from a sweep in Toronto to take both of their games at home against the Los Angeles Angels, and they took the first game of their two-game set with Baltimore on Wednesday.  Nelson Cruz led the way with nine RBIs over the last week, while Vladdy Guerrero added a homer and six RBIs.  Starters C.J. Wilson and Rich Harden struggled over the week, but Naftali Feliz converted both of his save opportunities.

The next week brings a visit from the Chicago Cubs, and MLB baseball betting odds should favor the Rangers at home, where they were 16-7 as of Thursday.  Then, the Rangers will head to Kansas City for a two-game set with the lowly Royals.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are still trying to figure out if they have cap room this year, as Dirk Nowitzki has a player option for $21.5 million this year.  It’s highly unlikely that the Mavericks will be parting ways with their star, who has spent all 12 of his NBA seasons in Dallas, but their major mission would be to get rid of Erick Dampier, who is slated to make $13.1 million next season, which is outlandish.  Caron Butler’s contract is also expiring like Dampier’s after next year, but the thing with him is, he can be productive.  The Mavericks may try and re-sign Brendan Haywood, who took Dampier’s job after he was traded from Washington with Butler.  The Mavericks likely won’t be a major player in this year’s free-agent bonanza, but they should have plenty of cap space for 2011, when there will be an impressive list of players on the market.

Dallas Stars

NHL betting players saw Dallas decline to offer another contract to long-time goalie Marty Turco, who will be looking for a new team after eight years with the franchise, and the Stars instead signed Kari Lehtonen to a $10.65 million contract over four years.  The Stars picked Lehtonen up from Atlanta in February, and even though he played just 12 games in Dallas, it was enough to make him the No.1 guy going forward.  Lehtonen is 26 years old, so he’s heading into the prime of his career, and he has career numbers of a 2.87 GAA, and a .912 save percentage.  Those are decent numbers when you consider that he played behind some pretty awful defenses in Atlanta.  With Lehtonen between the pipes, the Stars could be a solid betting darkhorse next season.

Win a championship in Cleveland this year and Lebron stays? Likely. Lose in the in the conference finals and Lebron stays? Possibly. Our world seems rocked that the Cavs lost to the Celtics in six.  Coming off the game 5 performance, James faced criticism for his lackluster 3-for-14 performance. In game six James responded with a triple-double (27-19-10), but during the final minutes remained somewhat carefree, emotionally spent.

Not to say an entire career decision rests on a week of poor play, or a series, but the larger factors need to be considered. Are the pieces in place? It seems every year Cleveland tries a new player here, or there. The plan changes, but the outcome remains the same. Back to Cavs, the real loser in this entire scenario is the city of Cleveland. This was supposed to be the year the Cavs won the title — or at least reached the NBA Finals. Now, it seems the Cavs’ poor showing against the Celtics will make it more likely James will sign elsewhere this summer.  One more win, one more series, and this might have had a different outcome.

July 1^st is right around the corner.

@JerodMSF has some great final four previews over at Midwest Sports Fans for the NCAA Tournament, and below you will find links to all the information you need to know for the Final 4 Games:

• Final Four TV Schedule – Announcers & Spreads
• West Virginia-Duke Preview – Tickets – Tip Time – Poll
• Butler-Michigan State Preview – Tickets – Tip Time – Poll

March 14: Selection Sunday
March 16: Opening Round Game at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
March 18th and 19th: First round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
March 20th and 21st: Second round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
March 25th and 26th: Sweet 16 games
March 27th and 28th: Elite 8 games
April 3rd: Final Four in Indianapolis
April 5th: NCAA Championship Game (Indianapolis)

Great Tickets are still available to March Madness games:
March Madness Tickets on StubHub.com!

Sweet 16: Baylor Bears blew out Saint Mary’s, the game was not even close, click below for a preview, TV information, & betting spreads for the elite-8 game.

• Baylor-Duke Preview and Prediction – South Region

You can also find previews of the other elite 8 games at Midwest Sports Fans.

• Elite 8 TV Schedule Announcer Assignments and Spreads

Round 2: Texas teams in the 2010 NCAA Tournament by Seed

• The Baylor Bears were the only team to make it through the second round, The Bears will face the St. Mary’s Gaels in the Sweet 16. You can read more about this game here: Sweet 16 Baylor-St Marys

Round 1: Texas teams in the 2010 NCAA Tournament by Seed

• (3) Baylor Bears
  Round 1: Baylor 68 Bearkats 59
  The Baylor bears moved on to the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament after defeating the Sam Houston State Bearkats in the first round.
• (5) Texas A&M Aggies
  The Texas A&M Aggies will get their chance to move on to the second round of the March Madness Tournament today. For more game information visit: March Madness Texas A&M Aggies vs Utah State Aggies
• (8) Texas Longhorns
  The Longhorns were knocked out of the 2010 NCAA Tournament by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in overtime.
• (12) UTEP Miners
  The Miners ended there 2010 tournament with a first round exit, losing to Butler 77-59
• (13) Houston Cougars
  The Houston Cougars will get their chance to move on to the second round of March Madness tonight at 8:40 PM Central Time when they face the (4) Maryland Terrapins. The TV Channel for this game will be CBS.
• (14) Sam Houston State Bearkats
  Sam Houston State was eliminated by the Baylor Bears in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Baylor 68 Bearkats 59
• (15) University of North Texas Mean Green
  The University of North Texas Mean Green lost to a tough Kansas State team in the first round ending the Mean Green’s Tournament for 2010

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The selections announced on Sunday made up of the 30 teams that automatically qualify by winning their conference tournaments, and the at large teams that the selection committee chooses. After all the teams are selected the selection committee must then be seeded or ranked. This seeding or ranking is done by the selection committee.

March Madness Selection Sunday: TV Channel – Time – Coverage
Selection Sunday TV Channel: CBS
Selection Sunday TV Time: 5:00PM Central Time
Selection Sunday Coverage: CBS & ESPN after the Selection Sunday Broadcast

Experience March Madness live in person with NCAA Tournament Tickets from StubHub!

• 1.) New Mexico
• 2.) BYU
• 3.) UNLV
• 4.) San Diego State
• 5.) Colorado State
• 6.) Utah
• 7.) TCU
• 8.) Wyoming
• 9.) Air Force

The teams to beat will definitely be New Mexico and BYU. New Mexico is the #1 seed of the tournament which is no surprise after the went 28 – 3 this season and 14 – 2 in Mountain West Conference play. BYU also won 28 games, but lost 4 regular season games and went 13-3 in Mountain West Conference play earning them the #2 seed.

The Mountain West Conference tournament will tip off with #8 seed Wyoming playing #9 seed Air Force playing a game to see who will play #1 seed New Mexico the next day ( March 11 2010 ).

Mountain West Tournament 2010 Bracket & Schedule

Get Great Mountain West Tournament Tickets at StubHub.com!

Printable Bracket

Mountain West Tournament: First Round – Wednesday March 10 2010

• 2:00 PM Pacific – (8) Wyoming vs (9) Air Force
  TV Channel: mtn-HD

Mountain West Tournament: Quarterfinal – Thursday March 11 2010

• (1) New Mexico vs (8)/(9) Winner
  Game Time: 12:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: mtn-HD
• (4) San Diego State vs (5) Colorado State
  Game Time: 2:30 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: CBS College Sports & mtn-HD
• (2) BYU vs (7) TCU
  Game Time: 6:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: mtn-HD
• (3) UNLV vs (6) Utah
  Game Time: 8:30 PM Pacific
  TV Channel:CBS College Sports & mtn-HD

Mountain West Tournament: Semifinal – Friday March 12 2010

• (1) or (8)/(9) vs (4) or (5)
  Game Time: 6:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: CBS College Sports
• (2) or (7) vs (3) or (6)
  Game Time: 8:30 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: CBS College Sports

Mountain West Tournament: Final – Saturday March 13 2010

• Mountain West Tournament Championship Game
  Game Time: 4:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: VS (Versus)

• University of Arizona – Wildcats
• Arizona State – Sun Devils
• University of California – Bears
• University of Oregon – Ducks
• Oregon State University – Beavers
• Stanford University – Cardinals
• UCLA – Bruins
• University of Washington – Huskies
• Washington State University – Cougars

The 2010 PAC-10 Tournament team to beat will no doubt be the Cal Bears who have the best conference record at 12-5. As with any conference tournament leading up to March Madness 2010 there will be a chance for an upset, but I am going with da Bears.

PAC 10 Tournament Tickets on StubHub.com!
Get Great NCAA Tournament Tickets on StubHub.com!

Pac 10 Tournament Round 1: 2010 Pac-10 Tournament Bracket & TV Schedule

March 10 2010 8:00PM Pacific Time on FSN
The #8 and #9 seeds of the 2010 Pac 10 Tournament will play for a chance to play the #1 seed.

PAC 10 Tournament Quarterfinals:
Seed 4 vs Seed 5 – March 11 2010 12:00PM Pacific Time on FSN
Seed 1 vs Seed 8/9 – March 11 2010 2:30PM Pacific Time on FSN
Seed 3 vs Seed 6 – March 11 2010 6:00PM Pacific Time on FSN
Seed 2 vs Seed 7 – March 11 2010 8:30PM Pacific Time on FSN

Pac 10 Tournament Semifinals
PAC 10 Semifinal 1 – March 12 2010 6:00 PM Pacific Time on FSN
PAC 10 Semifinal 2 – March 12 2010 8:30 PM Pacific Time on FSN

PAC 10 Tournament Final
Pac 10 Final – March 13 2010 3:00PM Pacific Time on CBS

PAC-10 Tournament History

2005 Washington – MVP Salim Stoudamire, Arizona
2006 UCLA – MVP Leon Powe, California
2007 Oregon – MVP Tajuan Porter, Oregon
2008 UCLA – MVP Darren Collison, UCLA
2009 USC – MVP DeMar DeRozen, USC

The biggest pieces in the trade are Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood going from the Washington Wizards to the Dallas Mavericks, and Josh Howard and Drew Gooden moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards.

Full description after the jump.

In the trade, the Dallas Mavericks will receive:

Caron Butler – Small Forward

Brendan Haywood – Center

DeShawn Stevenson – Shooting Guard

The Washington Wizards receive:

Josh Howard – Small Forward

Drew Gooden – Power Forward

Quentin Ross – Small Forward

James Singleton – Power Forward

The Washington Wizards were interested in this trade for one reason only: salary relief. All of these contracts expire after this season, giving Washington a significant amount of salary relief while allowing them to keep Antawn Jamison.

The Dallas Mavericks get Butler in return, one of the stalwarts of the Wizards’ rotation for the last few seasons, and a player who is averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds this year while making almost $10 million. Butler will turn 30 years old next month.

Haywood is averaging almost 10 points and 10 rebounds this season, and at 30 years old, gives the Dallas Mavericks a quality center they can rotate in with Erick Dampier. Haywood is also making only $6 million this season, an affordable price, especially considering Dampier will be a free agent after the season.

Quite simply, this trade is an outright steal for the Dallas Mavericks. Butler and Haywood are consistent, quality players that will easily fit into the team’s rotation. Butler is a definite upgrade over Howard, although it does sadden me as a fan to see Josh leave. It was time though, as he had fallen well out of favor.

Drew Gooden turned into the best possible signing for the Dallas Mavericks, as he showed enough after being signed to a one year deal to be traded for something better. Haywood and Dampier should be a nice center combination that will allow both players to remain fresh through the end of games.

My only concern is that Butler and Haywood have been on a losing team the past couple of seasons, and it is worrisome sometimes to acquire players that haven’t been winning recently. At this point, though, there is absolutely no reason for concern. This is a fine trade for the Dallas Mavericks, and a great reason to get even more excited about the second half of the season.

Butler pic: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/Yankees3Fan7/tag/NFL

Howard pic: http://www.xtec.cat/centres/a8061117/alumnes/wait/esports/nba/nba.html

In the 3-Point Competition 5 ball racks are placed in fixed positions around the arc and each ball rack contains 5 balls. The players will have 1 minute to make it from rack to rack and shoot all 25 balls. Because of the time limit players with a quicker release have a clear advantage.

Below are the participants and their 3-point percentages for the 2010 season so far.

Daequan Cook – 30%
Chauncey Billups – 41.5%
Stephen Curry – 42.9%
Channing Frye – 43.8%
Danilo Gallinari – 40.3%
Paul Pierce – 46.7%

Looking at the percentages you would think that Paul Pierce has a clear advantage, but he is not known as a 3-Point shooter and has a slow shot release. I think Chauncey Billups will win the 3-point competition for 2010.

2010 3-Point Contest – Day & Date: Saturday – February 13th 2010
2010 3-Point Contest – Location: American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
2010 3-Point Contest – TV Channel: TNT