Jordan's influence leaves Bickerstaff's future in doubt

Basketball Betting Lines

02/12/2007 -

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Portland coach Nate McMillan chuckled when he walked into Charlotte's practice facility last week and saw no chairs or bleachers, items banned by Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff.

``He hasn't changed,'' said McMillan, who played under Bickerstaff in Seattle during the 1980s. ``We had to stand up and be ready to practice. I was looking at our guys and they were trying to put their sneakers on standing up.''

The no-nonsense Bickerstaff has done things his own way since become the expansion team's top basketball man three years ago. But his power was reduced last spring when Michael Jordan became part owner with the final say on all basketball decisions.

Now, with the Bobcats struggling through an inconsistent season and an important summer of free agency ahead, Bickerstaff's future with the organization is uncertain.

While Bickerstaff has declined to talk about next season, several players back him, including rookie Adam Morrison.

``He's the guy who drafted me and believed in me,'' said Morrison, the No. 3 pick last year. ``I think people have to give him a chance, because we're really young. It's tough to count on so many young guys, night in and night out. He's doing a good job with what he's got.''

It's hard to gauge where Bickerstaff stands with Jordan, because Jordan hasn't granted an interview in Charlotte since last June. He has intentionally remained out of sight, even telling arena staff not to show him on the video board when he attends home games.

Jordan's contact with the players has also been limited.

``I've talked to him a little bit when he's been around, but other than that, nothing,'' Morrison said Monday.

While Bickerstaff no longer has the final say on personnel decisions, the moves he has made have allowed the Bobcats to assemble a decent group of young talent.

He pulled off a draft-day trade that allowed Charlotte to select Emeka Okafor. Charlotte has also drafted Raymond Felton and Morrison, and got leading scorer Gerald Wallace in the expansion draft.

Bickerstaff has resisted the temptation to try to win right away, hoarding draft picks and preserving salary cap space while preparing for this summer, when Charlotte will have the most flexibility as any team during free-agency.

``The young kids, they've got to get a chance to play, it's that simple,'' Bickerstaff said.

But Bickerstaff has sounded increasingly frustrated of late. He's criticized his young players for not spending enough time studying the scouting report. He's questioned the team's discipline, and was furious last Friday when a mental breakdown left Brandon Roy open for a tying 3-pointer in the closing second of regulation, helping McMillan's Trail Blazers to an overtime win.

``You have to deal with the players. You have to be fair, but you've got to have expectations for all of them,'' Bickerstaff said. ``You've got to coach for bad times, and that's why you have to treat everyone fairly.''

Bickerstaff was calmer on Monday, suggesting the team's recent rash of injuries is partly responsible for its current four-game losing streak.

``It's an ongoing process where you have to make changes,'' Bickerstaff said. ``Unfortunately, this is where we are.''

Bickerstaff's plan before Jordan arrived was to coach the team during the lean, early years, then hire a coach and become the full-time general manager when they became more competitive.

With Jordan now calling the shots, Bickerstaff may not get that chance. But it hasn't changed his style, which took 30 years in the NBA to mold. That means no chairs in the practice gym.

``Once you come to work, you don't sit down,'' Bickerstaff said. ``That's how I think you learn how to fight through fatigue. If you can't fight through fatigue in practice, you're going to go down on us when it's game time.''

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.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.