They all want your money, they all want your bets… why?? BECUZ U NEVER WIN!! Well, except for this one time that your friend won 3 million dollars by taking a 12 team parlay on a random Sunday afternoon!As I sat around yesterday in the afternoon preparing for the full night of basketball games, my friends decided that they would place some bets to make the night more interesting. A 24 pack of Corona, a few limes, some chips and salsa, a 50″ LCD, NBA League Pass, and an XBOX with NBA 2K8 ready to go at halftime, what more can we wish for to have a great time. Apparently, a lot.

Peer pressure has never had a strong influence on me. I never smoked dope because my friends did it. I never drank because my friends did it. I did it all because I wanted to! Unfortunately, gambling doesn’t work quite the same way, admittedly, it’s a bit more difficult to control yourself from having “more fun/heart attack” betting on NBA games.

The true issue with betting on basketball, or sports in general, is having just enough in your account that will cover the one, or maybe two good bets you are willing to make. The sad part, there is always an extra $10-$20 sitting in your account balance that you find a way to use by creating some ridiculous 6-team-parlay that pays 238-1.

Yesterday was one of those days. This is a story not about gambling, but about the true emotion that gambling produces in the heart of young fans. As the bets were placed I had my schedule worked out for the evening:

• Golden State in Atlanta trying to cover a spread of +2.
• Charlotte in Minnesota going for the win.
• New Jersey taking on San Antonio, in San Antonio, at +11
• Lakers in Sacramento for the first of four games against the Kings, -5.5

The Warriors game started off quite exciting with the Hawks managing to put up 41 in the 1st quarter and the Warriors scoring a cool 100 points through three quarters. I’ve gotta admit, there have been teams in this league that I have questioned, but I think that even I, a hardcore Lakers fan for life, had a great time watching Baron Davis go to work against Mike Bibby. The Warriors are just a fun team to watch. They run, the hustle, they rebound, they do whatever it takes to work their asses off and get the win.

After watching the majority of a game that the Warriors finally broke open, my first bet of the night was looking good. It was time to tune into one of the scariest match-ups of the night, the Bobcats taking on the Timberwolves. Prior to placing bets of course, we all take a look at the stats. Some of you may be thinking, the Bobcats are 4-22 on the road, but there is a reason to think they can pull this one out, they happen to be playing the Timberwolves. The same Timberwolves that own the worst home record in the NBA. O’ wait, I take it back, that title has been taken over by the 2006 Champion Miami Heat with 6 home wins. Anyways, I figure if the Bobcats were ever worth betting on, who better to try and beat than Minnesota, even if it’s on the road.

Now let me tell you, watching Jason Richardson play by himself, launching up crazy shots, is NOT FUN. These two teams are just simply boring to watch. It truly makes you recognize how lucky you are to be a fan of a real team, a team that actually wins games. Thankfully, with 2 beers down, I was able to enjoy the game that seemed more like a lunch time scramble between a group of Asian magnet school kids playing pick up on the school playground. As the game stayed close throughout the first three quarters, my friends and I quickly recognized that this may actually come down to a buzzer beater. Who would take that shot for either team? Does either 15 man roster have a guy thats capable of creating his own shot. I think that besides Jason Richardson, the answer is NO. The debate quickly started about whether UCLA would be able to beat either of these teams. We decided that it would be fun to watch but even the Heat and the Knicks can probably beat the Bruins.

With the game on the line, my man Richardon stepped up and the Bobcats defense shut down the Wolves. Somehow, and I don’t know how, the Bobcats won the game by 20 points and my parlay was still secure. Next up, New Jersey at +11 in San Antonio.

New Jersey started the game off like a real contender. They took advantage of the Spurs in every way that could possible be imagined, as a matter of fact, in the first half of the 2nd quarter, the Nets had a 10 point lead. I couldn’t believe it either, but surely enough, the lead was gone and the Nets were down by 7 at halftime. The second half was just plain sad, it was embarrassing. At one point, a stat came up on the screen saying: “New Jersey scoring - First 15 minutes: 29 points, Last 28 minutes: 27 points.” Well, this pretty much summed it all up with the Nets down by 15 and me and my friends praying for Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker to go to the bench and allow Devin Harris to get a few easy lay ups in the last 4 minutes lowering the gap to just 10 and essentially cover a bet for us. Surely enough, all three superstars were taken out with about 1:30 left in the game, Devin Harris hit a three pointer closing it to 11. Just one more point, PLEASE. San Antonio is stopped on the defensive end by the Nets, and New Jersey sprints downcourt with 20 seconds left trying to cut it to 9. With a quick turn around jumper off the backboard, the ball bounces off the inside of the front of the rim and bounces out. The Spurs hold the ball to end the game and the contest end at 81-70. Bet dismissed: WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO.

The afternoon/night was going pretty well so far. The best part of my night was yet to come and I was so excited to see my bet secured with another great performance by Kobe Bryant. Of course, thats exactly what I got. Actually, I got a little bit more than I was asking for, I could’ve lived without the heart attack. LOL (Yes, I actually made myself giggle that time).

The Lakers were down the entire game, from beginning to end (end = everything except for final score). I was telling all my friends that our bets were good, I mean seriously, what are the chances the Lakers lose to the Sacramento Kings. As I soon found out, Ron Artest can really get it going and Brad Miller is still capable of playing some good quality ball, even with his walker. And I almost forgot, Kevin Martin probably has one of the worst releases I’ve ever seen besides Shawn Marion’s hip toss.

Anyways, watching the Lakers game was an adventure in itself. A few more beers, some chips n salsa, and a ridiculous loss to the SportsTsar in NBA 2K8 will really get you pumped up for the 2nd half of a basketball game that your beloved team is already in danger of losing. Fast forward a few minutes, 5:56 left to play in the 4th quarter, Lakers down by 7, 100-93. This was the end of the game for the Kings, but the Lakers were apparently just getting started.

How about a quick play-by-play:

• 5:56 - 95-100: Kobe Bryant hits 2 free throws
• 4:52 - 97-100: Kobe Bryant hits 2 free throws
• 4:28 - 99-100: Pau Gasol 2 point shot (assist Kobe Bryant)
• 4:05 - 101-100: Kobe Bryant hits 2 free throws
• 3:36 - 103-100: Kobe Bryant 2 point lay-up
• 3:13 - 105-100: Kobe Bryant hits 2 free throws
• 2:29 - 107-100: Kobe Bryant 2 point dunk (assist Derek Fisher)
• 2:06 - 107-103: Beno Udrih 3 points shot
• 1:44 - 109-103: Kobe Bryant 2 point shot
• 1:31 - 109-105: Mikki Moore 2 point tip in
• 1:14 - 110-105: Kobe Bryant hits 1/2 free throws
• 0:55 - 111-105: Luke Walton hits 1/2 free throws
• 0:45 - 113-105: Derek Fisher hits 2 free throws
• 0:23 - 115-105: Pau Gasol hits 2 free throws
• 0:14 - 117-105: Kobe Bryant hits 2 free throws

WOW. I really don’t know how else to explain the end of this game, besides WOW. It was simply an amazing ending to an amazing night of basketball. I haven’t had this much fun watching basketball in quite a while. I watched the majority of 4 basketball games, was successful in calling the result in all 4 of them, won some money, and was in a good mood the rest of the night. Had Kobe Bryant not delivered another MVP like performance to close out this game, I probably would’ve been in a pretty pissed off mood the rest of the night, but luckily, I cheer for a team with an owner willing to pay the money it takes to create a competitive team.

The night was amazing and ended with a bang from my favorite player. Although my first day back in the sports betting world came to end with plenty of success, I decided to set some ground rules for myself. I have created a logical way to make bets on sports and have decided to have fun rather than try to make a living. I can’t wait for the next great night of basketball with the boys!

Wait, I just checked the lines for today, 12 NBA games… I guess another 24 pack is in order…

UPDATE ON NBA: Chris “Birdman” Anderson has re-signed with the New Orleans Hornets and adds some much needed depth, age and experience to a team lacking in big men.