Lakers add Barnes, Ratliff

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07/22/2010 - El Segundo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers added depth to their frontcourt by signing veterans Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff.

The Thursday move for Barnes to sign with the Lakers came just three days after he posted a message on his Twitter account saying he was joining the Toronto Raptors via sign-and-trade deal, but that fell apart.

Barnes sent another message from Twitter Thursday declaring that his signing with the Lakers was official. "This is a dream come true!!!," Barnes wrote.

The Los Angeles Times reports Barnes received a two-year contract, but left money on the table for a more lucrative offer from Cleveland. He'll reportedly earn $3.6 million from the Lakers, but Yahoo! Sports reports Barnes could have earned $7 million over the same period from the Cavaliers.

Barnes, 30, averaged 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 81 games for the Magic last season. He started 58 contests and averaged just under 26 minutes per game.

In 444 career games over seven seasons with the Clippers, Kings, Knicks, Sixers, Warriors, Suns and Magic, Barnes has averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 boards. He played college ball at UCLA.

The Times reports Ratliff's deal is for one year for the veteran's minimum of $1.35 million.

The 37-year-old Ratliff, entering his 16th NBA season, averaged 5.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in 28 games for the Charlotte Bobcats last season. He started the season with San Antonio and averaged 1.6 points and 1.9 boards in 21 contests with the Spurs.

"I've had a long and very rewarding career, and joining a storied and legendary franchise such as the Lakers adds an even more special element," Ratliff said. "I look forward to playing for Coach (Phil) Jackson and with great players such as Kobe (Bryant), Derek (Fisher), Pau (Gasol), Lamar (Odom), Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum and all my other new teammates, and hopefully to helping the Lakers win a third straight championship."

Originally selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft (18th overall), Ratliff has twice been named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1999 and 2004) and has led the league in blocked shots three times (2000-01, 2002-03 and 2003-04).

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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