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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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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