Turkoglu to join Blazers

Basketball Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu is leaving Orlando for the Great Northwest, reportedly coming to terms on a five- year, $50 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Oregonian newspaper reported the contract, although it can't become official until next Wednesday when the NBA's free-agency signing moratorium comes to an end.

The 30-year-old Turkoglu, a first-round draft pick of Sacramento in 2000, had spent the previous five years with the Magic and averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 77 games last season. He helped the Magic into the NBA Finals, but last week opted out of the final season of his deal that would have paid him $7.3 million.

Not only that, but the Magic already made a big move to replace Turkoglu by working out a trade with New Jersey for Vince Carter on draft night.

The 6-foot-10 Turkoglu spent his first three seasons with the Kings before joining the San Antonio Spurs for one seasons. For his career, he's averaging 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and is a career 38.5 percent shooter from three- point range.

The deal would give Portland a huge front-line going into the 2009-10 season as he would join 7-foot-1 Joel Przybilla or 7-foot Greg Oden at center, and 6-foot-11 LaMarcus Aldridge at the power forward spot.

Jinfeist Basketball Betting News

<< Reds activate 3B Encarnacion from DL
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati third baseman Edwin Encarnacion was activated from the 60-day disabled list prior to Friday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Encarnacion had been on the DL since late April due to a chip

<< New York hopes to snap losing skid at Dallas
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York ends a tough seven-match streak Saturday night at FC Dallas, hoping to snap a nine-game winless skid and a road losing stretch that dates back to last season. New York (2-12-4) contests its six

<< Sturridge secures Chelsea switch
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Highly-rated Manchester City striker Daniel Sturridge has completed his transfer to FA Cup winners Chelsea. The 19-year-old, who has penned a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge, will join up the rest

<< Owen agrees to join United
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Owen is determined to repay the faith Sir Alex Ferguson has shown in him after penning a two-year contract with Manchester United. The 29-year-old moves to Old Trafford on a free transfer

<< NL Central: Astros creating a buzz
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros were one of the National League's premier teams during the early part of this decade, capturing four division titles during a five-year span from 1997-2001. A driving force behind that impressive run was an

Cano, A-Rod homer as Yankees top Toronto >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez each homered as the New York Yankees doubled up Toronto, 4-2, in the opener of a four-game set. Mark Teixeira added a hit and an RBI for the Yankees, who have won eight of

D.C., Columbus clash for top spot in East >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United coach Tom Soehn was excited to have last weekend off in MLS and thinks the Eastern Conference leaders are refreshed for Saturday's trip to the Columbus Crew, even though they continued defense of thei

Daytona qualifying rained out, Stewart awarded pole >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rain washed out Friday's qualifying session for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. A thundershower moved over the 2.5-mile track shortly before the start of qualifying. Track

Bases-loaded walk sends Cubs over Brewers in 10 innings >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Fox drew a bases loaded walk, scoring Ryan Theriot in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the Chicago Cubs edged the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1, in the second of a four-game set at Wrigley Field. Theriot

Woods shoots 66 to lead AT&T National >>
Bethesda, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods nourished his momentum with a handful of scrambling par saves, shooting a four-under 66 on Friday to take the second-round lead at the AT&T National. Woods finished two trips around Con

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.