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02/15/2007 -
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Adam Morrison headed to Las Vegas on Thursday to take part in All-Star weekend festivities as the second-leading rookie scorer in the NBA. He might be leading the league if not for those home games.
Morrison prefers playing on the road instead of dealing with the Charlotte Bobcats fans who expect big things from the No. 3 pick in last year's draft.
``It's a mental thing. I feel like everybody expects me to make everything,'' Morrison said of playing at home. ``The fans have been great, but some of the expectations and some of the stuff I hear when I'm going up and down the court at home, it feels like I'm on the road.''
The numbers back him up. Morrison, who scored eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in Charlotte's 100-85 home win over Chicago on Wednesday, is averaging less than 11 points and shooting a little more than 33 percent in 26 home games. Morrison is averaging 14.3 points and shooting 41 percent in 26 road games.
``I think I put too much pressure on myself for what the fans are saying,'' Morrison said as he prepared to play in Friday's rookie-sophomore game.
Morrison isn't criticizing the fans, he just wants them to give him time to develop. And Morrison acknowledges he's hit the famous rookie wall in his first season going from playing 30-something games in college to the 82-game grind of the NBA.
``It's four games a week, with back-to-backs,'' Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. ``That's tough on the veteran players, so that's been the problem. He's hit the wall a little bit.''
Morrison, who averaged a nation-best 28.1 points a game last season at Gonzaga, has struggled with inconsistency. He has 10 games of 20 or more points, but has reached that total only once in the past 22 games. Morrison has failed to reach double figures in five of his past six games.
Morrison, who started the season with the reputation of being a great shooter but suspect defender, hasn't consistently hit open jumpers. He's shooting only 31 percent from 3-point range.
So when Morrison isn't making shots, he can hurt Charlotte because of his defense. Opposing players have often gone right at Morrison, who has struggled keeping up with the players off the dribble.
Bickerstaff thinks Morrison, listed at 205 pounds, is being hurt by a lack of upper-body strength.
``We've got to get him in the weight room. He needs to do that,'' Bickerstaff said. ``He has the mental courage, but you've got to have something to back it up.''
Morrison vows to get stronger in the summer, and he remains confident he'll be able to become the consistent scorer the Bobcats counted on when they drafted him.
``It's been an up and down season for myself and the organization,'' Morrison said. ``I've got to perform better.''
Morrison's parents and other family members were scheduled to fly to Las Vegas to watch him play in Friday's rookie-sophomore game, where he'll be teammates with the NBA's top rookie scorer, Brandon Roy of Portland. He'll also play against his teammate Raymond Felton, who will play for the sophomore team.
But the best part about the game for Morrison: it's not in Charlotte.
``Yeah, I feel way more comfortable on the road,'' Morrison said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Blank looking for new revenue, not new QB, for Falcons
ATLANTA (AP) -Arthur Blank is looking for new revenue - and possibly a new stadium - for the Atlanta Falcons.Not a new starting quarterback.February marks the five-year anniversary of Blank's purchase of the team. ``There have been a lot of ups and
<< Torre to Bernie: We want you
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Joe Torre spoke to Bernie Williams and the message from the New York Yankees manager was clear: Come to spring training.Williams, feeling slighted by the only major league team he's played for, has thus far refused to accept a mino
<< NBA All-Star Game Results
2006-East 122, West 1202005-East 125, West 1152004-West 136, East 1322003-West 155, East 145, 2OT2002-West 135, East 1202001-East 111, West 1102000-West 137, East 1261999-No game.1998-East 135, West 1141997-East 132, West 1201996-East 129, West 1181
<< NBA All-Star Game MVPs
2006 - LeBron James, Cleveland2005 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia2004 - Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers2003 - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota2002 - Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers2001 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia2000 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio; and Shaquille O'Neal, LA
76ers playing only for draft picks and hope for the future >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -The only thing fans want the Philadelphia 76ers to win these days is the draft lottery.The playoffs are far out of reach for the third-worst team in the NBA, so winning games won't do anything except lower the number of available
Zito unveils new delivery on first day with Giants >>
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Barry Zito unveiled a different delivery on his first day with the San Francisco Giants, making at least one of his new coaches a little nervous.Pitching coach Dave Righetti went as far as to say the tweaks Zito made this win
Bonds finally signs contract >>
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Barry Bonds finally signed his $15.8 million, one-year deal Thursday, ending more than two months of wrangling between the slugger and the San Francisco Giants over contract language.With both sides satisfied, Bonds is schedu
Doan says commitment to winning was key in decision to stay >>
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -If team captain Shane Doan finishes his new five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, he could be one of the few professional athletes to spend his entire career in the same organization.It's a franchise, th
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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