Marc Lawrence Sports Handicapping News

NBA After The Break...

Now that the NBA All Star game is in the record books it's time to focus on teams that were disappointing prior to the break that were expected to perform at a higher level the first half of the season.

By ferreting out teams with potential that underachieved you can put added value on your play list, provided of course these teams have not already tossed in the towel.

In the Eastern Conference I would keep a close eye on Detroit.  While the Pistons have played sub .500 ball since the arrival of Allen Iverson the fact remains they are talented and they play a solid brand of defense.  Look for the Pistons to begin hitting on all cylinders soon.

In the Western Conference a team I would pay attention to is the Golden State Warriors. They are finally returning to full health and under head coach Don Nelson they can become dangerous down the stretch.

Let's see what happens...

Post Super Bowl Thoughts...

SBXLIII did not disappoint, at least from a viewer standpoint.  It may arguably go down as the best Super Bowl game ever as both teams went back-and-forth like a ping pong ball in the 4Q.

As disappointed as I was that the Steelers did not get the money in the contest, it would be easy to go back and tell of how they could/would have beat the spread.  The bottom line is they did not, walking away instead with their 6th Super Bowl ring.

From a fan standpoint, I have to wonder why Santonio Holmes was not flagged for excessive celebration immediately after his game winning touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone.  A 15-yard penalty tacked on to the ensuing kickoff would have given Arizona desirable field position and with Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin - who knows what might have happened.

Somehow, most amazingly, the higher seeded team fell to 1-11-2 ATS in the last fourteen Super Bowl games.  That's incredible!...