Malone said.That wont be a concern for the Pistons, who will be tired and playing at altitude after a tough game against the Spurs.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The odds are good the U.S. will win the gold medal count once again in the Olympics.The odds are even better this year that there will be some money bet on it.Bookmakers in Las Vegas are making the U.S. the favorite to defend the gold medal crown from the London Olympics, with an over/under of 43.5 gold medals for the Americans. China is the only other country close to the U.S., with bookies putting that countrys gold medal line at 36.Its the first time since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney that bettors in Nevada have been able to put money on the games. So far, they havent exactly caught Olympic fever.Weve probably had 10 people come to the counter to bet it, said Jimmy Vaccaro, who sets odds at the South Point hotel sports book.Bookies who can usually pick the spread for an NFL game within a point or two off the top of their head have had to educate themselves on some unfamiliar sports that in any other year would not even attract the attention of bettors looking to make a score.Its easy enough to make Michael Phelps a favorite in most of his races, and for Usain Bolt to add three more golds to his growing collection. Not terribly difficult to pick the home country, Brazil, in both mens and womens volleyball, either.But making a line on things like Hyvin Jepkemoi of Kenya to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase (shes an even money favorite) is a little tougher. So is figuring out that Germanys Thomas Rohler should be a 5-4 favorite in the javelin.And with real money at stake, there is little room for error.If you put up something thats a weak line or make a mistake the sophisticated guys will be all over it, said Johnny Avello, who runs the sports book at the Wynn. They turn into good bettors if you have something wrong.Its pretty much a foregone conclusion the U.S. mens and womens basketball teams will romp their way to gold. The U.S. women are so dominant that they are a staggering 57.5 point favorite to beat Senegal in their opening game, and you would have to wager $200 to win just $10 if you like either team to win the gold.Just as dominant is American gymnast Simone Biles, who could be the biggest star of the Rio Games. Biles is a 2-1 favorite to win the balance beam and the floor exercises, a co-favorite along with North Koreas Hong Un Jong to win the vault, and a big favorite to win the all around.She and her teammates are also whopping 22-1 picks to bring home the womens team gold.Since most sports rarely appear on an oddsmakers radar, they wont risk the house by taking huge bets. Avello said he would take a couple of dimes ($2,000) on most bets, while most books limit bets to half that.Betting on the Olympics is nothing new. Betting parlors in Britain did good business four years ago for the London Olympics, and have posted odds for years on both big and obscure events at the games.But bettors in the U.S. have been shutout since the 2000 Olympics because of an agreement Nevada gaming authorities made not to offer betting on amateur sports. The prohibition was lifted in Nevada last year, though, and bookies were quick to post odds.So far, though, the action has been minimal, mostly what Kornegay calls grocery store bets of $10 and $20.If America gets into the hype of the coverage maybe it will be more, he said. But I think people watch the Olympics more than they bet them. If Serbia plays Croatia in volleyball or something like that I dont think well get any bets. Cheap Custom Yankees Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Derek Jeter Jersey Large .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/ . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Cheap Yankees Jerseys . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Custom Derek Jeter Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. A week after getting knocked around at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Denver Nuggets have a chance to get even with the Detroit Pistons when the teams meet at Pepsi Center on Saturday night.Detroit manhandled the Nuggets from the start in a 103-86 win Nov. 5, and the loss is fresh on the minds of Denver players and coaches. The Pistons jumped out to a 20-4 lead and never looked back.It was a scenario that played out for the Nuggets against Golden State on Thursday. Like the game in Michigan, Denver got down early and could never get back into the game.The Nuggets hope to turn that around against the Pistons, who are coming off a 96-86 loss in San Antonio on Friday night.The Pistons enter Saturdays game relatively healthy. Point guard Reggie Jackson and forward Reggie Bullock have not played this year but the rest of the team is intact.Thats not the case for Denver. Guard Will Barton remains out with a sprained left ankle and forwards Wilson Chandler (hamstring) and Darrell Arthur (knee) are not expected to play.But that might not be Denvers biggest concern. The Nuggets have not taken care of the ball this year, which has contributed directly to two losses. They had 16 last week against the Pistons, and it was a problem yet again in the loss to the Warriors.We cannot continue to turn the ball over 18, 19 times a game if we want to give ourselves a chance to win, Denver coach Michael Malone said.The Nuggets are hoping they will get one of those turnovers back and maybe a chance to turn a loss into a defeat. In Tuesdays losss at Memphis, the officials ruled the Nuggets touched the ball last before it went out of bounds with 0.dddddddddddd7 seconds left, a call that was upheld by replay. Denver was leading by one and the Grizzlies won it on Marc Gasols buzzer-beater.However, the NBA took another look at the play and ruled the ball should have been given to Denver. The Nuggets have filed an official protest with the league and hope to replay the end of the game the next time they play Memphis.Whether they do it or not I have no idea, Malone said.That wont be a concern for the Pistons, who will be tired and playing at altitude after a tough game against the Spurs. Theyll be looking for their first win in Denver since 2009, which is also the last time they swept the season series from the Nuggets.Detroits defense is improved over last season, which has helped bail out a struggling offense.What youd like to be is good at both ends. Getting our defense established is more of the priority, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told The Detroit News. We try to work on both ends of the floor and theres been more emphasis on defense.Center Andre Drummond, who anchors the back end of the defense, is happy the focus has been on that end of the floor.Id rather we have a successful defensive night than a fantastic offensive night, Drummond told The Detroit News. When we have great defensive nights, offensively, it takes care of itself. ' ' '