Boozer, Okur to remain with Jazz
Basketball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Carlos Boozer and center Mehmet Okur both announced they will remain with the Utah Jazz for the 2009-10 campaign.
Boozer announced he will exercise his player option and remain with the club, while Okur declined to exercise his early termination option on his contract. Boozer is scheduled to earn $12.65 million next season, while Okur will make $9 million.
Boozer missed a majority of the 2008-09 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in January. The two-time All-Star missed 44 straight games but came back in late February and led the Jazz into the playoffs, where they were ousted in the first round by the eventual champion Lakers.
Despite the injury, Boozer, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged a double-double for the third consecutive year with 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds.
"We are excited that Carlos has decided to remain with the Jazz," said Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor. "We are hopeful he can continue to play at an All-Star level and will have an injury-free season."
Boozer signed with Utah as a free agent in 2004 after spending two seasons in Cleveland, which selected the Duke product in the second round of the 2002 Draft.
In 432 career games, the Alaska native has put up a robust 16.8 rebounds, 10.0 boards and 2.4 assists per game.
Okur, who came to Utah as a free agent in 2004, averaged 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 72 starts last season.
"We are looking forward to Memo's return," said Kevin O'Connor. "He has clearly been an integral part of our success since his arrival and we are hopeful that he will continue to perform at such a high level in the future."
Over seven NBA seasons, Okur has averaged 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds in 531 games (373 starts) with Utah and Detroit.
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns exercised the second-year team option on the contract of forward Louis Amundson. Signed by the Suns last August, Amundson saw action in a career-high 76 games last season and averaged 4.2 poin
<< Utah C Okur to return next season
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur decided
to exercise his player option in his contract and return to the team next
season, the club announced on Tuesday.
Okur, who came to Utah as a free agent i
<< Montana State gives basketball coaches three-year extensions
Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montana State University has agreed to
three-year contract extensions with head women's basketball coach Tricia
Binford and head men's coach Brad Huse.
Each coach was set to enter the 2009-10
<< Smith to serve as Division I men's basketball chair
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA announced on Tuesday that Gene
Smith, the current associate vice president and athletics director at Ohio
State, has been named chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee for
the 201
<< Beltre has surgery
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre
underwent surgery Tuesday to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder.
Beltre, who was also put on the 15-day disabled list, had the procedure
performed by
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames' gamble paid dividends on Tuesday, as the club signed defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a multi-year contract just hours prior to the start of the NHL free agency period. Over the wee
Pirates blank Cubs, complete rare winning mark in June >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Sanchez doubled and knocked in two
runs, and Ross Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings, as the Pittsburgh
Pirates got by the Chicago Cubs, 3-0, in the second of a three-game set at PNC
Park.
Haren pitches, hits D-Backs past Reds >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren threw seven innings of one-run
ball and added a double and solo home run at the plate to help snap the
Diamondbacks' five-game losing streak with a 6-2 decision over the Reds.
Haren (7-
Braves edge Phils in 10 innings at Turner Field >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gregor Blanco scored the winning run in the
10th inning as part of a three-hit night, and Martin Prado drove him in as
part of a four-RBI evening, as Atlanta used the big bats from two unlikely
sources
Big Unit defeats Carpenter, Giants top Cards >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edgar Renteria went 3-for-4 with two RBI and
Randy Johnson won the battle of former Cy Young Award winners, as the Giants
pulled out a 6-3 victory over Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals in the second
test of
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
|
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.