Gambling

Based on the attention given to Davidson's unexpected trip to the Sweet 16, it would seem as if this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament was dominated by upsets. Think again. Over the first two rounds of the tournament, favorites covered 31 of 48 games, led by No. 1-seeded teams North Carolina, which defeated its East Regional opponents by an average margin of 35 points, and Kansas, which covered its first two Midwest games with an average winning margin of 21 1/2 points.

For most of the regular season, strong interior defense made Stanford a solid under play on over/under combined-point-total bets. But since Feb. 10, the Cardinal has been giving up more points and, at the same time, increased its scoring. That has turned out to be a good combination for over/under players with the over going 11-2 in the last 13 games involving Stanford, which has scored 75 or more points in four of its last five games. Tonight, Texas (30-6) -- seeded No.

Msgr. William Belford said that the Rev. Patrick Dunne of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in White Plains allegedly took a significant amount of church money for a gambling habit and had been removed from the parish. Belford said that the Westchester County district attorney's office was investigating.

With big men Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum injured, the Lakers have lost three of their last five games and have failed to cover the point spread in four of their last five. Yet some Las Vegas oddsmakers have updated their boards with the Lakers as co-favorites with the Boston Celtics to win the NBA title as of Tuesday afternoon. For example, at Sportsbook.com, the Lakers are listed with the Celtics at 2-1, followed by the San Antonio Spurs at 4-1, Phoenix Suns at 11-2 and Detroit Pistons at 8-1.

It has been a decade since the NHL had a team repeat as Stanley Cup champion and most Las Vegas oddsmakers give the Ducks a good chance of ending that drought this season. The Detroit Red Wings, who had the league's best record during the regular season, are the consensus favorites at 3-1, followed by the San Jose Sharks, who are listed at 9-2, according to Bodoglife.com.

The NBA will play its final regular-season games tonight and the Boston Celtics are in good position to take home the crown as the league's best team against the spread. Led by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the Celtics have a 51-28-2 record against the point spread heading into tonight's game against New Jersey. At home this season, Boston is 24-15-1 against the point spread and on the road, the Celtics are 27-13-1.

The Lakers are three-point road underdogs for today's Game 4 against Utah in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals. In Game 3, the Jazz was favored by five points and won, 104-99, for a betting push (no winner), giving the Lakers nine consecutive games without a point-spread defeat. The last time the Lakers failed to cover a point line was April 11, when they were five-point favorites over New Orleans and won, 107-104.

Based on how the 2007-08 NFL season played out, one would think that the New York Giants would finally get some respect from Las Vegas oddsmakers after they rocked the betting world with their upset over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Think again. This week, NFL over/under total win bets for the 2008-09 season were released and the Giants' mark is listed at 8.

By the time the Lakers tipped off against San Antonio on Thursday night for Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, they were listed as 7 1/2 -point favorites. It turned out to be a sizable point spread that attracted plenty of support for the Spurs, who needed a victory to stay alive in the best-of-seven series.

One attractive thing about betting on NASCAR races is the type of money that can be won. Just look at the odds available for Sunday's Sprint Cup Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. This season's top driver, Kyle Busch, who already has several wins this season -- four Sprint Cup, four in the Nationwide Series and two in the Craftsman Truck Series -- is listed as the favorite at a whopping +425, according to beted.com.