There’s been a bit of drama in the NBA over the past couple weeks, and as you might have guessed Allen Iverson and LeBron James are at the center.

Iverson is making headlines, and, once again, it’s about the future of his basketball career.  As many of you dedicated NBA fans will know, Iverson has been out of commission for the past month or so due to his four year old daughter’s undisclosed illness.  Well, he and the 76ers have come to a mutual decision that he will remain out for the remainder of the season so that he can deal with his more pressing family issues.

So, with Iverson out, many people are asking what’s next for him?  After a very short retirement, he made his return when the Sixers signed him as a free agent.  This came after two less than memorable stints with Detroit and Memphis.  He was certainly anxious to prove that he had plenty left to give.  He returned with a bit of humility, seemingly less interested in being the center of attention and more interested in being a part of the team.  Though, perhaps his arthritic knee played a part in his desire to take a more reserved role on the team.

So, does all of this spell out a more permanent retirement for Iverson?  There are no confirmed answers at this point, but one thing is certain: he won’t be returning this season.

In other NBA news, LeBron James has filed papers to officially change his number from 23 to 6.  You may remember, earlier in the year when James made the news when he called for the NBA to retire the number 23 in honor of Michael Jordan.  Well, he’s taken it a step further by officially giving up 23.  Though, it’s one famous number to another.  Both Julius Irving and Bill Russell donned the No. 6 during their careers. James wore the six jersey on the US Olympic team, and continues to wear it everyday in practice.

In any event, the season must roll on, and BetUS still has you covered on all the odds.  They are currently offering the following:

Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat
Lakers: -5 ½ -110
Heat: +5 ½ -110

Utah Jazz v Phoenix Suns
Jazz: +1 ½ -110
Suns: -1 ½ -110

Don’t forget to get to BetUS to put down a wager before the games get underway on Thursday, March 4.

NBA commissioner David Stern let slip this week in an interview with Sports Illustrated, that the league is now open to the prospect of regulated sports betting on it’s games.

It created a firestorm of interest around the web and media agencies. And to be honest I’ve been a little astounded by some of the negativity and ignorance shown by some respected journalists reporting the change in direction. How do they get through life ignorant to what is happening in the rest of the world and only forming opinions based on their own little neighborhood? They couldn’t be so against Stern’s thoughts if they had done the slightest bit of research on the topic at all and seen what the rest of the world has been doing for years.

Many have derided Stern for what is simply an admission that gambling happens now anyway, so why not benefit from it? It’s logical, and forward thinking from the most respected commissioner in pro sports.

He said quite candidly that “”The betting issues are actually going to become more intense as states in the U.S. and governments in the world decide that the answers to all of their monetary shortfalls are the tax that is gambling.”

He may be the first US sports leader to think like this, but he’s still a long way behind the rest of the world. Nearly everywhere has regulated & taxed sports betting already. The US is the only developed western nation I know of where it’s citizens don’t have the freedom to walk down the street to legally place a bet on their favorite sports team – except in Nevada of course.

The Author of the piece, Ian Thomsen, had this to say; “My take, as written several times over the years, is that legalized betting on professional sports in the U.S. is inevitable for two reasons: (1) If sports wagering becomes a legal and taxable form of revenue, then governments will actively police sports betting in order to protect that revenue base, as well as to safe-guard the leagues that create the windfall of new taxes; and (2) Betting on games will create more fan interest and, ultimately, bring in more money to the NBA and other leagues.”

It’s just a pity that it has taken the lure of dollars to make more people in the USA see the light when it comes to regulated gambling on sports. Why couldn’t they have just done this already because it makes sense? The land of the free is more like land of the ‘nothing comes for free’ these days.

In light of the NBA’s change in thinking, BetUS has posted odds on which sports league will regulate gambling on their games first. Of course the NBA is an almost unbackable 2/3 favorite. They’re also favorite to have an NBA team in Las Vegas first at 1/1.

I know I’d love to see the Las Vegas Kings in town! But who needs ANOTHER excuse to visit Vegas?!

Allen Iverson has returned to the NBA after a long and relaxing retirement that lasted one whole week.  That’s right, Iverson is back, but perhaps more surprising is the fact that he’s signed with his former Philadelphia 76ers.

Many fans will remember the tumultuous ending to Iverson’s relationship with the Sixers in which his name was stripped from his locker and his image edited out of all highlight clips before he had even signed with another team.  Well, it seems that both sides have turned over a new leaf.  Iverson has signed a non-guaranteed deal with the team that should seem him at least finishing out the season in Philadelphia.

The move is thought to have ultimately been influenced by low attendance numbers in Philly and to replace Lou Williams who is currently out for eight weeks with a broken jaw.  Iverson, who has been surprisingly grateful for his chance to return to the NBA, will likely be ready to prove that he’s still the star forward that was once a 10 time all star with four scoring titles under his belt.  He is expected to make his triumphant return from retirement on Monday against Denver – one of his former teams.  There’s no doubt that plenty of people (Iverson fans or not) that will be tuning in to see if he’s still got what it takes to pull in big numbers.

In the mean time, check out all of the NBA odds on offer at BetUS.  These include the following:

Boston Celtics v San Antonio Spurs
Pointspread
Celtics: pk -110
Spurs: pk -110

Houston Rockets v Golden State Warriors
Pointspread
Rockets: -3 -110
Warriors: +3 -110
Moneyline
Rockets: -155
Warriors: +135

Miami Heat v Denver Nuggets
Pointspread
Heat: +9 -110
Nuggets: -9 -110
Moneyline
Heat: +350
Nuggets: -450