Understanding NBA betting odds

If you love watching NBA games, you will surely love betting on it too! NBA betting double the excitement and fun as we watch our favorite NBA sport. However, betting on a popular sport like NBA comes a little tough most especially if you don?t have concrete ideas to base your betting choices. This derived the NBA betting odds. So, what is it all about?

NBA betting odds is actually a system where all the basic sources to base all your betting choices in every basketball game can be found. It is a system that helps you bet particular amounts while illustrating all the possible prospects of your preferred team winning the game. The data that are given in the system came from a long list of sportsbook and totaled from every basketball match.

The NBA betting odds is categorized into significant segments composed of the date and time of competition, rotation number, teams playing against each other, point spread, money line and total.

It is necessary that you are aware of these terms to be successful in your NBA bet.

? The game roster is noted on the date and time while the rotation number lists down the name of the visiting team over the home team.

? The point spread, which is the most common bet not just in basketball but to all sports, points out the favorite team from the underdog. For example, a game between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers comes up with a +7 as well as -7, which means, you are able to gain cash if Boston wins the game right away or loses to LA with less than 7 points in the game.

? The moneyline is simply betting on which team you think will win. The basis of the betting volume is $ 100. For instance, the money line presents Dallas Mavericks with a -340 and Boston Celtics with +320. This indicates that you must bet $ 340 on Dallas to win $ 100, as well as a $ 100 bet on Boston to obtain $ 320.

The total, which is the easiest type of NBA bet, means betting on the sum of all points from both teams. The ?hypothesized? figure is based on a substantial guess obtained from sports analysis. If the total is 170 and the actual points amount to 180, then those who bet above 170 gains the cash.

Understanding and learning how to read the NBA betting odds is very essential to get a bigger chance of winning your hard earned money. Also, it can provide you better understanding on exactly how the game affects the bets you are willing to wager upon. So, be sure that you have study NBA betting odds prior betting. Good Luck!

Source: http://entertainment.ezinemark.com/understanding-nba-betting-odds-7d3369fd565a.html

last house on the left rich forever mixtape blow i am legend bret michaels bret michaels the unit

Sports Parks ? Blog Archive ? Surfing Wetsuits Are Not Created ...

While all surfing wetsuits are designed with the same principles in mind, the material as well as the quality that goes into the manufacturing process varies from company to company. So, it is important that you know what to look for when you shop around for your first suit. The most important thing to know is there are different suits that are designed for different water conditions. Generally speaking, colder water requires a thicker suit while warm water requires one that is thin.

Unfortunately, thickness limits flexibility, so those who swim in cooler waters will want to make sure they are choosing surfing wetsuits based on comfort as well as effectiveness. Additionally, it is important to find one that will fit the body just right as well. So, you want freedom of movement but you also want to be as warm as possible. Another thing to consider is the zipper area needs to be well sealed and built to last, otherwise leaking can occur which will limit the life of the suit. So, as you are shopping around, make sure you are considering quality in addition to price as you narrow your search for the best one.

February 3rd, 2012 posted in Shopping and Product Reviews

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://sportparks.org/2012/02/03/surfing-wetsuits-are-not-created-equally/

naacp cheryl cole x factor freetown freetown nicole scherzinger modern family troy davis

Prosecutors close Armstrong inquiry, no charges

FILE - In this July 17, 2009, file phot, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong reacts as he answers questions of reporters prior to the start of the 13th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 200 kilometers (124.3 miles) with start in Vittel and finish in Colmar, central France. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski, File)

FILE - In this July 17, 2009, file phot, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong reacts as he answers questions of reporters prior to the start of the 13th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 200 kilometers (124.3 miles) with start in Vittel and finish in Colmar, central France. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2011, file photo American cyclist Lance Armstrong prepares for a fundraising ride through the streets of Brisbane, Australia. Federal prosecutors said, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, they are closing a criminal investigation of Armstrong and will not charge him over allegations the seven-time Tour de France winner used performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2011, file photo, former cycling champion Lance Armstrong smiles during a news conference at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors said, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, they are closing a criminal investigation of Armstrong and will not charge him over allegations the seven-time Tour de France winner used performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - In this July 7, 2005, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas, rides through the countryside during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Troyes and Nancy, eastern France. Federal prosecutors said, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, they are closing a criminal investigation of Armstrong and will not charge him over allegations the seven-time Tour de France winner used performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati, File)

FILE - In this July 24, 2005, file photo, overall leader Lance Armstrong, of Austin, Texas, signals seven for his seventh straight win in the Tour de France cycling race, as he pedals during the 21st and final stage of the race between Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris, and the French capital. Federal prosecutors said, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, they are closing a criminal investigation of Armstrong and will not charge him over allegations the seven-time Tour de France winner used performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong on Friday, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates participated in a doping program.

Armstrong has steadfastly denied he doped during his unparalleled career, but the possibility of criminal charges threatened to stain his legacy as the world's greatest cyclist and could have cast a shadow over his cancer charity work.

"This is great news," Armstrong attorney Mark Fabiani said in a statement. "Lance is pleased that the United States Attorney made the right decision, and he is more determined than ever to devote his time and energy to Livestrong and to the causes that have defined his career."

The probe, anchored in Los Angeles where a grand jury was presented evidence by federal prosecutors and heard testimony from Armstrong's former teammates and associates, began with a separate investigation of Rock Racing, a cycling team owned by fashion entrepreneur Michael Ball.

U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. announced in a press release that his office "is closing an investigation into allegations of federal criminal conduct by members and associates of a professional bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong."

He didn't disclose the reason for the decision, though Birotte has used discretion in pursing high-profile criminal cases before. Last February, his office closed an investigation of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp.

The pronouncement comes after a pair of less-than-successful cases against top athletes accused of doping. Home run king Barry Bonds was found guilty of obstruction of justice and sentenced in December to 30 days' home detention ? a conviction he's appealing ? but prosecutors were unable to convince a jury he lied about using steroids. Roger Clemens' steroid trial is slated for April 17 after a judge declared a mistrial last summer when prosecutors showed jurors inadmissible evidence.

Investigators looked at whether a doping program was established for Armstrong's team while, at least part of the time, they received government sponsorship from the U.S. Postal Service. They also examined whether Armstrong encouraged or facilitated doping on the team.

The hurdle for prosecutors wasn't so much to prove whether any particular cyclist used drugs, but to determine if Armstrong and other team members violated federal conspiracy, fraud or racketeering charges. Unlike Bonds and Clemens, who testified before a federal grand jury and Congress, respectively, and were accused of lying under oath, Armstrong was not questioned in front of the grand jury.

Armstrong won the Tour de France every year from 1999-2005.

Betsy Andreu, who with her husband and former Armstrong teammate, Frank, accused the cycling champion of doping, said she was shocked by Birotte's decision.

"Our legal system failed us," she said. "This is what happens when you have a lot of money and you can buy attorneys who have people in high places in the Department of Justice."

Led by federal agent Jeff Novitzky, who also investigated Bonds and Clemens, U.S. authorities sought assistance overseas, requesting urine samples of U.S. Postal riders from France's anti-doping agency and also meeting with officials from Belgium, Spain and Italy.

Prosecutors also subpoenaed Armstrong supporters and ex-teammates to testify in Los Angeles. Among them were Ukrainian cyclist Yaroslav Popovych, who rode on three Armstrong teams dating back to 2005; Allen Lim, an exercise physiologist for Team Radioshack; and longtime Armstrong friend Stephanie McIlvain.

The investigation began after Novitzky was told about a cache of performance-enhancing drugs found by a landlord in the vacated apartment of Kyle Leogrande, a cyclist who rode for Rock Racing and had a doping ban, according to several people familiar with the case.

The case also was spurred by disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis, who claims Armstrong had a long-running doping system in place while they were teammates. Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for drug use, acknowledged in 2010 he used performance-enhancing drugs after years of denying he cheated.

One of the most serious accusations came during a "60 Minutes" interview last May when former teammate Tyler Hamilton said he saw Armstrong use EPO during the 1999 Tour de France and in preparation for the 2000 and 2001 tours.

The report also said Armstrong loyalist George Hincapie, another ex-teammate, told federal authorities that he and Armstrong supplied each other with performance-enhancing drugs and discussed them. Hincapie released a statement after the segment aired, saying he did not speak with the show and didn't know where it got its information.

U.S. anti-doping officials said Friday they will not be dissuaded by the government's decision to close the Armstrong probe.

"Unlike the U.S. Attorney, USADA's job is to protect clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws," said Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "Our investigation into doping in the sport of cycling is continuing and we look forward to obtaining the information developed during the federal investigation."

As the investigation progressed, Armstrong assembled a legal team, hired a spokesman and briefly created a website to address any of the allegations reported by the media.

Frustrated by a slew of news articles about the investigation, Armstrong's attorneys filed a motion in July, asking a judge to order federal agents to testify about their contacts with reporters.

Some legal experts said it's rare for federal prosecutors to announce they are no longer pursuing criminal charges against someone, and wondered if Armstrong's stature may have played a role in the decision. Birotte noted in his announcement the intense media interest in the case.

"The government always has a tremendous amount of prosecutorial discretion regarding whether or not to bring an indictment. In this case it appears that they have acted judiciously and likely considered all of the good works of Lance Armstrong and his foundation," said Mathew Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor who is not involved in the case.

___

Associated Press writers Pete Yost in Washington and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-02-03-Doping-Armstrong/id-652a7e41294a4821b320a9fe0d794a61

lindsey vonn lindsey vonn josef stalin kourtney and kim take new york anne hathaway nathan hale kohls coupons

Planned Parenthood supporters denounce Komen's funding halt

He won't be sporting that pink tie anymore.

California state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) has volunteered for years as one of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure "Pink Tie Guys," who wear the ties at public events to raise awareness about breast cancer.

On Wednesday, after learning that the foundation would stop funding Planned Parenthood for breast health services, Padilla announced that his pink tie days were done.

"Komen has placed its supporters in the untenable position of aligning themselves with acquiescence to the agenda of the religious right, or aligning themselves with healthcare and breast cancer organizations that will not bow to such pressures," Padilla said in a statement.

"The choice is clear to me. I choose the latter."

Komen's decision, made quietly late last year and made public Tuesday, has ignited fury in some and jubilation in others, depending upon their stance on abortion. Public message boards, Twitter and Facebook are flooding with posts supporting or decrying the move.

Online petitions have been established to pressure the Komen foundation to reverse its decision. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has launched a Breast Health Emergency Fund to ensure continued funding to the 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates that will soon lose their Komen grants, seeded with $250,000 from the Amy and Lee Fikes family foundation.

Komen has explained that the defunding decision was due to the foundation's recently enacted policy to not fund organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. That would disqualify Planned Parenthood, which is the subject of a congressional inquiry begun in September by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) to determine whether it has used federal money to fund abortions, which is forbidden by law.

Komen posted a statement on its website Wednesday saying that it was "dismayed and extremely disappointed that actions we have taken to strengthen our granting process have been widely mischaracterized."

"We regret that these new policies have impacted some long-standing grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, but want to be absolutely clear that our grant-making decisions are not about politics," the statement said.

Komen also posted a YouTube video Wednesday in which founder and Chief Executive Nancy G. Brinker explained the foundation's position.

But critics said they believed the organization had capitulated to antiabortion pressure.

"The investigation they refer to is politically motivated and bogus," said Vicki Saporta, president and chief executive of the National Abortion Federation, a professional association of abortion practitioners. "To use that as an excuse to end a relationship that has saved thousands of women's lives is astounding."

Saporta and others said they suspected a link between Komen's decision and its appointment last year of a self-described "pro-life Christian" as senior vice president of public policy.

Karen Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, was hired in April following her unsuccessful 2010 run for governor during which she frequently called for an end to abortion. Neither Handel nor others at Komen could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Even some associated with Komen said they were frustrated by the decision. Ann Hogan, president of the board of directors for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut, an affiliate based in Farmington, said she learned of it earlier this winter and had been "very surprised."

"We didn't have input," she said.

Last year, Komen Connecticut gave out more than $1 million to state organizations battling breast cancer, including $38,000 to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England to support clinical breast exams, mammograms and outreach through June 30 of this year, Hogan said.

"We have a great relationship with Planned Parenthood," she said. "We value our grantees. We need them to do our work. Everything we're doing here should be about our mission."

amina.khan@latimes.com

Times staff writers Eryn Brown and Shari Roan contributed to this report.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/HwiJHEw_IXU/la-he-komen-planned-parenthood-20120202,0,761252.story

mt rainier national park rose parade ticket city bowl mount rainier national park drop dead gorgeous 2011 nfl playoff schedule cowboys vs giants

Exactly What Is Diabetes Mellitus? | New Health and Fitness

New Health And Fitness.Org - Health Information You Can Use

Anyone who is familiar with diabetes knows that this is a medical disorder which causes the body to generate excessive urine. It does not end there though; in addition , you get to suffer much pain as your organs aren?t getting enough of insulin so they aren?t working properly. Never a good sign, that one. But luckily however, these days there are quite effective remedies that assist to maintain the problem in order. Taking and making use of these right treatments along with avoiding the kinds of foods that you should stay away from, can all work to help you keep the situation at bay.

Sure, having heard that Grandpa or Grandma are affected by diabetes, you might have thought it was a disease only older folks suffered from. You couldn?t be more wrong. I once ran into a thirty year old guy who couldn?t eat some foods anymore ever since the doctor said they?d kill him. He was troubled with diabetes!

In case your body doesn?t manufacture the insulin hormone, or if your cells fail to respond appropriately to it, you?re in trouble. A condition usually results from such, and the condition is called diabetes. I?m sure you?ve heard of that; what I don?t suppose is you know what it means. That?s why you should be reading on, not halting.

Sugar has a role to play in your body, but you know that too much of a good thing can be harmful at times. Too much of sugar in your blood is called hyperglycemia, and it is not that farfetched from diabetes. You might want to keep a simple life that will not let that happen to you.

I was told time without number as a kid: ?lay off the candies.? I never thought they could be very serious to ask me to miss out on something so sweet. I wish now that I had listened; now I gotta live with diabetes, and I tell you it ain?t easy.

Diabetes causes excessive urination in people who suffer from it. In additions, it also results in excessive thirst and a hunger that knows no match. I tell you, this is not a disease that you want to live with. If there are ways to keep it off, you want to learn them and put them into practice. No jokes here.

Learn more about Hip Replacement Recall. Find out all about Actos Lawsuit Lawyerand what it can do for you.

Source: http://newhealthandfitness.org/2012/02/02/exactly-what-is-diabetes-mellitus/

snapdragon snapdragon kim jong ill dead wedding crashers next iron chef next iron chef aquamarine

Do menu 'sweet spots' really exist?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

When you sit down to read a restaurant menu, do you read it like a book? Or do your eyes flit from place to place to find the most enticing dish?

A new study by SF State researcher Sybil Yang, assistant professor of hospitality and tourism management, suggests that on average diners read menus sequentially like a book, and that their gaze doesn't linger noticeably longer over any particular location on the menu. The finding goes against decades of conventional wisdom in the restaurant business that suggests there is a menu "sweet spot" where diners look the longest.

Restaurants place the items they hope to sell the most in this fabled sweet spot, lying just above the midline on the right-hand page. The sweet spot is just one strategy, along with colorful text and highlighted boxes, which menu designers use to catch a diner's wandering eye, said Yang.

It's an idea with surprisingly little data behind it, Yang found out. While researchers have studied how people scan a Web page or textbook, there are very few empirical studies of menu reading. Menu reading might be quite different from reading in other contexts, Yang pointed out, "because in a restaurant you have an audience with the motivation to read the entire thing."

"The restaurant industry has been piggybacking off past research," said Yang, without having the resources to test ideas like the sweet spot. "It's like a bad rumor that just kept perpetuating."

One widely cited study of menu "scanpaths" comes from graphic designer William Doerfler, who published an influential "focal map" of menu reading suggesting that a reader's eyes zigzag across menu pages and focus for the longest time on the right-hand sweet spot.

"I could only go from my own experience," Yang said, recalling the Doerfler study, "so I was thinking, 'am I just weird?' because I don't read it that way."

To learn more, Yang recruited test subjects to wear an infrared retinal eye scanner, read through a mock menu, and then choose a full meal as if they were at a real restaurant. She used video to record and analyze the readers' eye movements, or scanpaths as they perused the menu.

She found that on average, people read the menu sequentially like a book, moving from left to right and down the pages of the two-page menu. They read slowly, suggesting that they were reading for information rather than just scanning the pages. Yang found no evidence of a sweet spot where eyes tended to focus for the longest time, but she did notice a "sour spot" where readers focused for the least amount of time. The sour spot contained information about the restaurant and a list of salads -- which may not have been of interest to the mock diners, Yang suggested.

"The good news [for restaurants] is that people are reading the menus carefully, and that they seem to be choosing an entr?e and then building a meal around it," she said.

Restaurant owners that have seen Yang's data say "that this makes absolute sense," she said, "and that they're glad to have the empirical data."

There are plenty of other tricks of the trade in menu design that deserve closer scrutiny, said Yang. One of her other research projects involves the importance of decoys on menus ? "the items that are never meant to be chosen, but are placed there to affect your other choices," she explained.

The most famous example might be the $199.99 order of 20 buffalo wings and a bottle of Dom Perignon at Hooters restaurants, but many restaurants use decoys.

The details of design are especially important in an era where restaurant chains in particular have been bought by large, diversified corporations "with an interest in squeezing every one to two percent of profit out of them," Yang said. "It makes menus an even more important part of marketing."

###

"A revisitation on gaze motion and consumer scanpaths" will be published online Feb. 2 in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

San Francisco State University: http://www.sfsu.edu

Thanks to San Francisco State University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 69 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117306/Do_menu__sweet_spots__really_exist__

ginger white conrad murray sentencing conrad murray sentencing urban meyer adam shulman adam shulman nfl power rankings week 13

Smithsonian honors Eastwood, opens theater on mall (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Clint Eastwood helped open a new movie theater on the national mall Wednesday evening and the Smithsonian Institution honored the actor and director for his six decades of work in American film.

Eastwood, 81, visited the National Museum of American History to help dedicate the new Warner Bros. Theater as a space to present the history of Hollywood. Warner Bros. Entertainment donated $5 million in 2010 to renovate the museum's old Carmichael Auditorium into a modern theater with 3D projection capability.

The new theater gives the Smithsonian its first space dedicated to film history, museum spokeswoman Melinda Machado said. The 264-seat theater will be able to screen silent films and first-run movies.

Eastwood, who was awarded the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for his distinguished contributions in film, said he was a fan of the museum complex. The addition of a theater will add a piece of entertainment history to the Smithsonian's collection, he said.

"People are treating it more as a part of our American heritage," he said.

Eastwood also commented on the recent casting of Justin Timberlake to co-star in his next film, "Trouble with the Curve." He said he liked Timberlake as a performer and recording artist, "but I'd seen him acting and he does quite well."

Eastwood, who endorsed John McCain in the presidential race four years ago, joked that he may run for president himself this time. He didn't say who he was supporting.

Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, presented the Smithson medal, telling Eastwood he was going to "make your day."

Eastwood said he was proud to help open a new theater that's worthy of the Smithsonian.

He told a crowd of donors and lawmakers that "it's very nice to be part of the Smithsonian, at least as the recipient of a medal and not in one of the cabinets."

Warner Bros. will help present four film festivals at the museum this year and into the future, Machado said. Most programs at the theater will be free to visitors, rather than charging for tickets as the Smithsonian does at its IMAX theaters.

On Friday, the museum will open a three-day film festival to highlight the work of Humphrey Bogart with free screenings of "Casablanca," "The Maltese Falcon" and other films.

Movie costumes also are going on display at the museum, including those worn by Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman and Eastwood, along with Harry Potter's robe. The costumes are on loan from Warner Bros., along with animation drawings for Bugs Bunny and other memorabilia.

Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer said he visited the Smithsonian a couple of years ago and saw that it needed more from the entertainment world.

"We realized so much of the fabric of our cultural history of the United States was tied up in film, and there was not that big of a film collection at the museum," Meyer said.

He said the museum's old theater was run down and not being used.

"I realized our industry needed to be better represented," Meyer said, adding that he hopes other film companies help build the Smithsonian's collection.

Dwight Blocker Bowers, the Smithsonian's entertainment curator, said the addition of a movie theater means the Smithsonian is taking the history of film seriously. The museum is in early talks with the American Film Institute to develop a daily film screening, he said.

"We're hoping to make Warner Bros.' dollar and our tax dollars function for the audience," he said.

Warner Bros. may also donate some movie objects to the museum, Bowers said.

"We always have a wish list in our hip pocket," he said.

The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal was established in 1965.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120202/ap_on_en_mo/us_smithsonian_film_history

stanford oregon velasquez vs dos santos velasquez vs dos santos manny pacquiao vs. juan manuel marquez manny pacquiao vs. juan manuel marquez cain velasquez vs dos santos cain velasquez vs dos santos