The Staples Center has become a wonderful place to play in these playoffs. Usually, the attention is geared toward Kobe and the LA Lakers. But now, the Lakers have to share the spotlight with CP3, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers. And amazingly enough, both teams have been practically outdone by the Cinderella of these NHL playoffs: The Los Angeles Kings.

It may be inappropriate to compare the Kings to Cinderella because it does not seem like the Kings are going to leave this NHL playoff party at the midnight bell. The Kings have steamrolled through the #1 seed Vancouver Canucks and #2 seed St Louis Blues, becoming the first #8 seed in NHL history to dethrone the top two seeds in their conference. The ringleader of this team at the present moment is goaltender Jonathan Quick. During the regular season, Jonathan Quick posted a GAA of under 2 and a Kings franchise record of 10 shutouts. He had a save percentage of .929. He has picked it up further in this postseason with a playoff-leading 1.55 GAA and a .949 save percentage. Clearly, he has been the straw that stirs the drink. All of a sudden, a team that has been known for its anemic offense during the regular season has found the back of the net more than anyone else in the postseason. Dustin Brown has led the way with 6 goals, including two short-handed goals. Anze Kopitar leads the team with 7 assists and has found the net three times himself. Mike Richards has paced the scoring with three goals himself.

The Kings have an outstanding group of defensemen. Rob Scuderi has a +5 rating so far in these playoffs. Drew Doughty has anchored the stat sheet for the Kings defensemen. He leads all defensemen on the Kings with 6 points and has a +7 rating.

As great as Jonathan Quick has been for the Kings, the Phoenix Coyotes have had an equally solid goaltender in Mike Smith. During the regular season, Mike Smith had 38 wins, a 2.21 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Like Quick, he has picked up in the playoffs. He has a 1.77 GAA and a save percentage of .949.

The Coyotes’ offense has been paced by trade-deadline acquisition Antoine Vermette, who has five goals and four assists. Their scoring has been balanced as they have four players with 3 goals each during these playoffs. Martin Hanzal and Mikkel Boedker have had two game-winning goals each in these playoffs. The Phoenix Coyotes have had a share of defensemen that include a 20-year old starlet in Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Defensemen Keith Yandle and Rostislav Klesla have seven points, which is tied for 2nd on the Coyotes. The Coyotes outlasted the Blackhawks in six games and the Nashville Predators in five games. They are a capable matchup for the Los Angeles Kings.

Game 1 of the Coyotes/Kings series starts on Sunday, May 13th at 8pm. I think it will be an even match-up on the offensive end. The Los Angeles Kings may be over-achieving on the offensive end and they may have not come across a goaltender as good as Mike Smith in these playoffs. However, both teams have had a great deal of depth in terms of scoring at the forward position in these playoffs. While the Coyotes may have an advantage in terms of scoring defensemen, the defense has been the anchor for the Los Angeles Kings during the regular season when they were a one-dimensional team. Now that the Kings seem to be clicking on both sides of the puck, their defense will stand-out more and be the difference in this series. The Kings certainly have an advantage in terms of the penalty-kill as they have four short-handed goals while the Coyotes have zero.

And of course, the goal-tending match-up is pretty even. Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith have spear-headed both teams into the conference finals. Goals will be hard to come by in this series. Thus, I believe that the Coyotes will have a harder time getting past the superior Kings defense as well as Jonathan Quick. The X-factor in this series will be whether the Kings offense continues their sudden turn in the right direction in these playoffs. It will not be easy, but I believe that they will.

Prediction: Kings in 6.

2012 NBA Playoffs Round One Schedule

April 28th – The NBA playoffs start this Saturday with 4 of the 8 first round matchups taking place all day long and the last 4 first round games will take place on Sunday. For an NBA fan it is absolutely the best time of the year. Let’s take a look at the schedules of the first round game matchups that will be coming up this weekend as well as an overview of the brackets for each conference as the series’ are decided.

Saturday April 28 2012

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Philadelphia 76ers
1p.m, on TNT

No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 7 New York Knicks
3:30 p.m on ABC

No. 3 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 6 Orlando Magic
7 p.m. on ESPN

No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks
9:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sunday April 29th, 2012

No. 1 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 8 Utah Jazz
1 p.m. on ESPN

No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6 Denver Nuggets
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

No. 5 Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 4 Boston Celtics
7 p.m. Eastern, TNT — Game 1

No. 4 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers
9:30 p.m on TNT

NBA Eastern Conference Bracket – All series’ are best of 7

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Philadelphia 76ers
#4 Boston Celtics vs. #5 Atlanta Hawks
**Winners of these two series play in round 2**

No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 7 New York Knicks
No. 3 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 6 Orlando Magic
**Winners of these two series play in round 2**

NBA Western Conference Bracket – All Series are Best of 7

No. 1 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 8 Utah Jazz
No. 4 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers
**Winners of these two series play in round 2**

No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6 Denver Nuggets
No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 7 Dallas Mavericks
**Winners of these two series play in round 2**

On April 26th, the last day of the regular season has finally reached us. As expected, the Heat, Spurs, Lakers, and even Memphis clinched the playoffs. It should be a very exciting time during these 2012 NBA Playoffs, including the matchup between the Heat and 76ers plus Clippers and Grizzlies.

Online sportsbooks are gearing up for the playoffs with bunch of promotions and incentives. One of the best bonuses for the  2012 NBA playoffs is the FREE $10 Bet and plus a $250 Parlay Contest sponsored by OddsMaker online sportsbooks.

The 2012 NBA Playoffs are closing up on us and what a season it has been so far! Two more day in the regular season and the playoffs action is right around the corner. First round for the 2012 NBA playoffs will kick off on Saturday, April 28th with sixteen top NBA teams competing for the NBA Finals trophy.

Online USA sportsbooks are preparing for one of the busiest times in a year; the NBA playoffs usually generate a lot of betting online worldwide, that is why SBG Global sportsbook is giving away up to 265% in total bonuses.

With the playoffs on the horizon, make sure you print out the printable and free 2012 NBA playoffs bracket. We are offering two kinds of brackets, one is in the PDF format, easy to edit, print and share. Another format for the bracket is just an image (.JPEG) for you to print and share, you will not be able to edit the fields throughout the bracket.

Printable brackets are easy to share with friends while the playoffs are in progress. In the free printable bracket you will be able to fill in the team that advanced to another round, even up to the championship game.

2012 NBA Regular Season and Playoffs Key Dates and Events

April 2012: The NBA regular season is coming is right around the corner. The regular season, after the lockout finished as expected, Miami Heat is the top 3 team in the league, the Oklahoma Thunder are looking for a strong finish, and Indiana Pacers, who are predicted to have a promising strong finish during the regular season and give Chicago or Miami and good fight for the next round spot. Since we are starting the playoffs, we figured to post few NBA 2012 important key dates during the season and upcoming playoffs.

2012 NBA Regular Season and Playoffs Key Dates and Events:

Feb. 24th-25th: NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, FL.
Mar. 15th: NBA Trade Deadline at 3pm.
Apr. 26th: NBA Regular Season Ends.
Apr. 27th: Teams rosters must be set by 3pm.
Apr. 28th: 2012 NBA Playoffs starts.
May. 14th-15th: NBA Conference Semifinals start.
May. 28th-29th: NBA Conference Semifinals start.
Jun. 12th: 2012 NBA Finals start. (might move to Jun10th.)
Jun. 28th: 2012 NBA Draft begins.
Jul. 27th – Aug. 12th: 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.

The 2012 NCAA Men’s Tournament also known as the March Madness Tournament will be concluded after the final game between Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks on Monday night. The championship game will finish a month long bracket tournament with Kentucky being favorite to win the game by 6.5 points and the over/under is 139 total points combined.

Kentucky throughout this tourney has dominated all the teams, beating them by double digits. Our pick is Kentucky and over 139 points. One of the best ways to shave off some points off the game is to do a 4 point teaser betting on Kentucky -2.5 points plus over 135 points.

March 19th, 2012 – OddsMaker is sponsoring this month, the $2000 March Madness Blackjack Freeroll Tournament for all players on the dates below. In the spirit of March Madness college men’s basketball tournament, OddsMaker is sponsoring 4 blackjack tournaments for free on the dates below. Take advantage of the tournaments before they expire.

Also, make sure you check out the free $250 Parlay wager. Pick five out of five teams in the tournament and win $250. You must have at lease $100 minimum balance in your players account.

$250 March Madness – SWEET 16
March 22nd-23rd, 2012
Start Date: March 24th, 2012
Time: 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM ET
Buy-in: FREE

$250 March Madness – ELITE EIGHT
March 24th-25th, 2012
Start Date: March 26th, 2012
Time: 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM ET
Buy-in: FREE

$250 March Madness – FINAL FOUR
March 31st, 2012
Start Date: April 1st, 2012
Time: 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM ET
Buy-in: FREE

$500 March Madness – CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
April 2nd, 2012
Start Date: April 3rd, 2012
Time: 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM ET
Buy-in: FREE

Updated – March 13th, 2012

The college basketball March Madness tournament schedule is already setup; we are few days away from the selection Sunday, which is a day when the bracket is filled with the teams competing all season long. The tournament takes the entire month to complete and it gets very exciting when you get to the final four teams. The first round of the 2012 march madness tournament will be held in Dayton, Ohio on March 13^th and 14^th; it will consist of four match-ups between 8 teams. The four games will decide who will move on to the bracket. Check out the complete list of betting odds, contest and press release.

The tournament’s second and third rounds will be played out in eight different cities on March 15^th and 18^th. If you would like to attend the games, here are the cities the games will be played; Nashville, Greensboro, Portland, Albuquerque, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Omaha and Columbus.

After the two rounds are finished, eight teams will be left who will move to the fourth round of the tournament, the “elite eight”. The match-ups for the elite eight will be held on March 22^nd and 24^th in numerous cities for East Region, Southwest Region, other hand the Midwest Region and Southeast Region will be played out on March 23^rd and 25^th.  After the eight games, the final four teams will move on the bracket play in this year’s Final Four in Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The games will be played out on March 31^st, 2012. The 2012 NCAA March Madness National Championships Game will take place on April 2^nd, 2012 in the historic Louisiana Superdome between the winners from the Final Four. To read more about the final four match-up, check the NCAAB future betting odds.

To view the betting on the Final Four winner, check out SBG Global Final Four betting odds.

PGA Tour Golf Tournament – The Honda Classic, Latest Betting Odds To Win the 2012 Golf Tournament held in Palm Beach Garden, Florida

If a player withdraws from the tournament before it starts Bovada sportsbook will refund any wager you might have placed. Get the latest online Honda Classic Golf Tourney Odds.

Favorite to Win:
Rory McIlroy       15/2
Lee Westwood       9/1
Tiger Woods       9/1
Charl Schwartzel   25/1
Keegan Bradley       25/1
Kyle Stanley       30/1
Ben Crane       33/1
Graeme McDowell    33/1
Justin Rose       35/1
Mark Wilson       40/1
Robert Allenby       40/1
Y-E Yang       40/1

Click here to check out the latest on Bovada, most recommended sportsbook.

Last month, in mid January the governor of New Jersey signed the law that legalizes sports betting and this has raised a lot of questions among the public. The law actually followed an overwhelming voter approval in November to permit sports betting at the Atlantic City casinos and New Jersey horse racing tracks. But then there are still a lot of processing that needs to be done as new jersey needs to wait for congress or the courts to repeal 1992 federal law that once banned sports betting in all except Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana as these states had some form of sports betting on the books before the ban came into existence. The attorney general now has all the necessary means and tools to go to the federal court so as to overturn the federal bans on sports betting. It is expected by this time next year, the Atlantic City will become abetting field with fans betting on giants or eagles in the super bowl.

The state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union also pointed out that hotel rooms in las Vegas are sold out during the super bowl and other major sporting events taking place at different times of the year while Atlantic city continued to stay as a proverbial ghost town all those times just because of the fact that they currently lacks sports betting. They are hoping to change this and bring a new hope be legalizing sports betting in the state which is hopefully going to make things different. People supporting this cause believe that the sports betting will be able to help the state in pulling out Atlantic City’s 11 casinos out of a five year slump by giving the tourists a good reason to visit the gambling resort.

Everyone believes that this change could be beneficial to the place in a greet way and that they could give a boost  to the state’s horse racing tracks as well and the ones to be benefited include Atlantic city race course, Monmouth park, the Meadowlands and freehold raceway. The voters of New Jersey clearly stated that they need sports betting and with this law, everything will be carried out in a responsible and professional manner. Almost all believe that this is the right thing to do for New Jersey and that it will ensure that the racetracks and casinos remain competitive.
The sports betting also calls for a highly regulated system which will be generating additional revenue for state programs and it will become a great benefit for the senior citizens and disabled residents. Some people have also claimed that making sports betting legal could mean a great deal for the state and allows New Jersey to take advantage of this revenue opportunity.

Considering the fact that sports betting is already taking place in the state although the only people currently benefited are bookies and criminal enterprises, it would be a good idea to put an end to such criminal activities and make use of sports betting for the true benefit of the people and state and make way for the growth of the state.