Wade finds the spotlight shines bright in Miami

Basketball Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I spent a number of years hosting my own radio show and am lucky enough to do quite a few guest spots around the dial these days, so I realize how easy it can be to say something off the cuff that someone, somewhere is alienated by.

In a society that grows touchier by the day, that kind of thing is just part of the process, and generally I dismiss most of the Sally Sensitives out there as just that.

However, there are a few topics I have been deft enough to avoid at all costs. For instance, I'm proud to say I've never compared the New York Yankees' treatment of Joe Torre to the Nazis like Tim McCarver, and I've yet to break out September 11 in reference to a losing streak.

Dwyane Wade?

Not so much.

When asked Sunday how his new super team in South Beach would react to a losing streak in the upcoming season, Wade handled it like a rookie stepping up to the microphone for the first time.

"You [the reporters assembled] all are going to make it seem like the World Trade has just went down again," Wade said before his annual charity basketball game that he co-hosts with former Heat-teammate Alonzo Mourning.

Later in the day AOL, which first reported the quote, sent a different version of it along with an with an editor's note explaining a transcription error was made and the company "deeply regretted the error."

However, in the second corrected version, Wade still made the insensitive reference, albeit with a bit of a qualifier.

"We're going to be wearing a bull's-eye," Wade reportedly said. "But that's what you play for. We enjoy the bull's-eye. Plus, there's going to be times when we lose two, three games in a row and it seems like the world has crashed down. You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade is coming down again, but it's not going to be nothing but a couple of basketball games."

Since D-Wade isn't Don Rickles or Lisa Lampanelli working blue at the Comedy Shack, that's still about as tasteless as it gets these days.

It's not that I think Wade had any bad intentions or actually thinks he and LeBron losing three in a row will really compare to 3,000 innocents losing their lives. The All-Star clearly just stepped the wrong way in the politically correct minefield that is America today.

Wade quickly apologized on Monday but made a second mistake in the process, blaming the messenger.

"In an interview yesterday, I attempted to explain how some people may view the Miami Heat losing a few basketball games in a row during the upcoming season," Wade said in a statement. "It appears that my reference to the World Trade Center has been either inaccurately reported or taken completely out of context.

"I was simply trying to say that losing a few basketball games should not be compared to a real catastrophe. While it was certainly not my intention, I sincerely apologize to anyone who found my reference to the World Trade Center to be insensitive or offensive."

It's still July and we are over three months away from basketball games counting again, but it would have been nice to see Wade step up like a leader, accept full responsibility and learn something very valuable from his little faux pas.

The Heat, not the Lakers or Celtics, are now at the center of the basketball universe and everything he, James, Chris Bosh and their teammates do will now be put under a very powerful microscope.

Distractions like this during the season are exactly the types of things that could lead to the losing streaks Wade so inartfully described.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.