Celtics' story is a long tale of woe

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2007 -

BOSTON (AP) -Paul Pierce didn't get a chance yet to read the inspirational book Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck left for him. The Boston captain was in the hospital with an elbow infection that derailed his return from a bad foot, and the book remained in his locker.

Wally Szczerbiak left the book behind when he went to get his ankle taped after a 91-79 loss to the Miami Heat extended Boston's franchise-record losing streak to 16 games Wednesday. And Tony Allen's copy of ``The Adversity Advantage,'' by blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer, was still in his locker, too; it's probably tough to carry a lot of stuff when you're walking in a full leg cast.

The first blind climber to summit Mount Everest, Weihenmayer was honored during a break in the Heat game Wednesday night as part of the Celtics' ``Heroes Among Us'' campaign. Grousbeck insisted the visit was long-planned and not timed to snap the team out of its franchise-record losing streak.

``If there's an advantage in adversity, I haven't found it yet,'' he said.

Neither has his team.

The Celtics matched their magic number with their 16th loss in a row - one for each of the titles that once made them the pride of the NBA. The league record of 23 straight in one season was set by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1996 and matched by the Denver Nuggets in '98.

``Every game they're close,'' Grousbeck said. ``Every game, there's two or three players that succeed. There's someone scoring 23, someone scoring 27, getting rebounds, people diving for loose balls. There's a lot to like about it, and they're playing hard for Doc.

``But it's time for a 'W.'''

The Celtics won 16 titles from 1957-86 to establish themselves as the NBA's most prolific dynasty. But it's been a long time since the Celtics, who named their mascot ``Lucky'' and wear a shamrock on their uniforms, have had any good fortune.

The deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias; the transparent tanking of the 1996-97 season in an attempt to obtain Tim Duncan, only to get a bad draw in the lottery; the disastrous tenure of Rick Pitino - all set back the quest for banner No. 17.

This year, it's been injuries that left the youngest team in the league without veteran leadership, or talent.

Center Theo Ratliff played just two games before being sidelined with a bulging disc. Allen tore his ACL just as he was emerging with a streak of 20-point games. Pierce missed 22 games with a stress reaction in his foot, then went back to sick bay with an infection and fever just as he was on the verge of returning.

``Obviously, it's a tough break,'' coach Doc Rivers said. ``But we've gotten used to that.''

The Celtics are 2-21 without Pierce, prompting one fan to hold up a poster that said: ``Wanted: Paul Pierce. Reward: a win.''

Pierce was released from the hospital on Thursday.

Szczerbiak had already sprained each ankle before attempting to block a shot on Wednesday night and landing on the foot of Leon Powe, who was sitting near the end of the Boston bench.

``Step on your teammate's foot on the bench? What else can go wrong?'' Szczerbiak said. ``It's like, gee, it's one of those things. ... It's just frustrating, right when I was starting to feel better.''

Rivers joked that he would go to a seven- or eight-man rotation - ``If we have seven or eight guys'' - but otherwise wouldn't change his approach.

``First of all, I am who I am. I ain't changing,'' he said. ``I believe in what I believe in offensively and defensively. And that ain't changing. And I believe it's the right thing, you just have to stick with it.''

But it would be nice to get a little luck.

Before loss No. 16, Rivers lamented the fact that Boston had back-to-back games against the Detroit Pistons, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the defending champion Miami Heat. Just the Celtics' luck: Shaquille O'Neal leading a resurgent lineup after missing 35 games with torn cartilage in his knee.

``When he went down, the first thing I did was look at the freaking schedule. I said, 'He'll be back.' So what can you do?'' Rivers said Wednesday before the Heat beat Boston 91-79. ``We've got to be the only team that didn't play Miami without Shaq.

``That's how things go.''

That's how things have been going for the Celtics, at least.

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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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.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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