NC State's Tracy Smith to test NBA Draft waters

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

04/29/2010 - Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina State junior forward Tracy Smith has entered his name into consideration for the NBA Draft, but has not hired an agent.

Smith retains the opportunity to return to the Wolfpack for his senior year, provided he withdraws his name from the field by the May 8 deadline.

The 6-foot-8 Smith led NC State in scoring at 16.5 points per game and rebounding with 7.3 caroms. He was named to the All-ACC second team and topped the conference in field goal percentage (.654).

"I love playing basketball at NC State, but this would be a win-win situation for me if I am able to take advantage of it," said Smith. "This would give me a great opportunity to see where I stack up against other NBA prospects."

The Detroit native tied for the team lead with 35 blocks and was second in steals with 40 in averaging 32.1 minutes and starting 35 games as a junior.

Wwwtangierscasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< White Sox OF Quentin scratched with hamstring injury
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin missed Thursday's series-ending game versus the Texas Rangers with a left hamstring strain. The slugger has disappointed in the early going this year, hitt

<< L.A.'s Buddle takes home MLS Player of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy forward Edson Buddle was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for April after scoring every one of his teams goals through five games. The 28-year-old Buddle scored an MLS-

<< Braves' Jurrjens leaves early against Cardinals
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves starter Jair Jurrjens left Thursday's game against St. Louis after straining his left hamstring. Jurrjens retired the first two batters he faced before hitting Matt Holliday with a pit

<< Woods trails early leader Van Pelt by 9 shots
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Making his second post-scandal start, Tiger Woods opened with a two-over 74 Thursday at the Quail Hollow Championship and trailed early leader Bo Van Pelt by nine shots. Struggling with his shot directi

<< Schnyder falls in Fes quarters
Fes, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder was among Thursday's quarterfinal upset victims at the $220,000 Moroccan Grand Prix tennis tournament. The second-seeded Schnyder was ousted by Romanian rookie Sim

Gonzalez leads in Spain >>
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricardo Gonzalez fired a seven-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Open de Espana at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla. Paul Waring is alone in second place at six-under 66. Gonzalez

Schalke's Kuranyi linked with Dynamo Moscow >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi is being linked with a summer transfer to Russian side Dynamo Moscow. The 29-year-old Germany international is out of contract at the end of this season and has

Bolton may lose Cahill this summer >>
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton will not stand in Gary Cahill's way should a major club come calling this summer, according to manager Owen Coyle. The 24-year-old England World Cup hopeful has been one the most consistent perf

NBA Playoff Preview - Cleveland vs. Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The light loads have been taken care of. Now, the top- seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the veteran-laded Boston Celtics are preparing to do some heavy lifting, as the teams meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals in a remat

Flyers prepare for physical series against Bruins >>
VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) -The Philadelphia Flyers see a lot of themselves in the Boston Bruins.Both teams had to finish strongly just to make the playoffs. Both stress defense, with plenty of muscle.Beginning Saturday in Boston, they go at each other in

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.