Trail Blazers hire pair of assistant GMs

Basketball Betting Lines

08/12/2010 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers rounded out their front office staff on Thursday by hiring Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry as assistant general managers.

Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

"I've had the opportunity to work closely with both Bill and Steve and have always been impressed by their tremendous basketball acumen, work ethic and character," said Portland GM Rich Cho. "I am thrilled to have them join me, Chad (Buchanan) and Mike (Born) as part of our front office staff."

The 44-year-old Branch joins the Trail Blazers from the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he worked with Cho for the past three seasons as the organization's director of pro player personnel.

Branch brings 23 years of NBA experience to Portland. From 1997-2007 he was employed by the Denver Nuggets, where he served in several capacities. Prior to that he worked in the Charlotte Hornets' basketball operations staff from 1987-97.

"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work for a team with such a rich tradition, great fan base and talented staff," said Branch. "I look forward to doing everything I can to contribute and help the Trail Blazers move forward and build upon some great pieces."

Rosenberry, 55, broke into the NBA as a scout with Seattle, where he spent six seasons before moving on to Charlotte to take a similar position from 1991-94. He then returned to the Seattle organization in 1994 and lasted 13 years, recently in the role of director of scouting.

Rosenberry also had a stop in Milwaukee before spending 2008-10 with Atlanta, where he was director of pro personnel and college scouting.

"I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with Rich, and while I have tremendous respect for him as a basketball person, he's been a great friend throughout the years," said Rosenberry. "It's exciting to be a part of an organization with a storied history and winning tradition such as Portland's."

Cho was named the Trail Blazers GM on July 19, replacing Kevin Pritchard, who was fired in late June.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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