Customers waiting hours for 23-cent pizzas in Ohio

Basketball Betting Lines

05/09/2008 -

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) -Wearing a blue Lebron James ``Witness'' T-shirt, Patrick Mone was willing to wait as long as necessary to get a 23-cent pizza in a promotion aimed at apologizing to Cleveland Cavaliers fans for a slam against their beloved All-Star.

Lines were so long Thursday at some of the 86 Papa John's stores offering a large, one-topping pizza for 23 cents that police stood nearby to make sure people didn't get unruly. Some customers waited hours.

``It's worth it,'' said Mone, who waited at a Westlake mini-mall in a line that snaked through a parking lot and across a lawn to the road. ``All the money is going to charity, and obviously, it's bringing new business to Papa John's.''

The price was a homage to James' jersey number.

The Louisville, Ky.-based Papa John's agreed to the 23-cent offer after a franchisee in Washington, D.C., made T-shirts calling star LeBron James a ``crybaby.'' The shirts referred to James' complaints about hard fouls during a playoff series that the Washington Wizards lost to the Cavaliers. The company also will donate $10,000 to the Cavaliers Youth Fund.

``It's a recession busting offer, and we certainly hope we have made it up to Cleveland,'' Tim North, vice president of the company's northeast division, told WEWS-TV of Cleveland.

Each Papa John's location offering the deal in the Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown areas was prepared to sell more than 900 pies. Outlets were ordered to close early if, as expected, they ran out of pizzas. In Akron, one location gave rain checks good for one week.

Locations were making 300 pizzas an hour to satisfy lines in which customers waited 90 minutes, North said.

There were a few headaches, mostly complaints about lack of parking, long waits and line-cutting, and one about a stolen pizza.

In Garfield Heights, a customer who bought a pizza at about 10 p.m. told police it was stolen as she was walking away by a man who began talking to her, then swiped the box and ran. The shop replaced her pizza.

Police said 600 waited in line in Euclid, where one customer was arrested for public intoxication, one for disorderly conduct and one for resisting.

In University Heights, an auxiliary police officer tried to settle a line-cutting complaint without riling either side. In Springfield Township outside Akron, police said their was an argument between two people in line, but no one was hurt and there were no arrests.

Officers were called before 5 p.m. to help close the pizza shops due to concerns that there might be rowdy crowds, said Columbus police spokeswoman Amanda Ford. She said the Franklin County Sheriff's Office was called to help at a location that had the most problems. A manager also requested special-duty officers from 6 p.m. to midnight.

In suburban Cleveland, people stood wrapped in blankets outside a store in Westlake and the line was two blocks long in University Heights.

``I did it for the principle of it. The principle of it is he's not a crybaby and Papa John's should not have gotten into it,'' Jennie Moore, 54, of University Heights, said as she waited for a pepperoni pizza.

Randall Hunter, 50, from Cleveland Heights, spent most of his four-hour split between bus driving shifts waiting for his pepperoni pizza. He defended James and what he said were flagrant fouls he received in the Washington series.

``You hit him in the face, you undercut him where he could really have an injury,'' Hunter said. ``He could be out the rest of the season.''

Kimberly Hall drove from Cleveland to Euclid to get a pizza, getting in line at 5 p.m. She got the last pizza from the shop, which began at 8:25 p.m. passing out vouchers good until Sunday to 150 customers.

``I'm going home to eat my pizza,'' she said. ``But now I'm not even hungry. I'm mad. They should have organized this better.''

---

AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwwincity Basketball Betting News

<< Rangers blank M's
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Vazquez finished 4-for-5 and Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer, as the Texas Rangers blanked the Seattle Mariners, 5-0, in the finale of a four-game series from Safeco Field. Kason Gabbard, activated f

<< Ginobili, Parker push Spurs past Hornets in Game 3
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each poured in 31 points as San Antonio used a strong second half to beat New Orleans, 110-99, in the pivotal Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Sp

<< Smith named head coach at Alcorn State
Vicksburg, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alcorn State named Larry Smith it's new men's basketball coach Thursday. Smith lettered for four years at Alcorn State and was part of the undefeated 1979-80 team at the school before moving on to an

<< Sexson ejected after charging mound and throwing helmet
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle first baseman Richie Sexson was ejected in the fourth inning of Thursday's game against the Texas Rangers. With two outs in the inning, Keith Gabbard came up and in with a fastball that caused

<< Customers wait hours for 23-cent pizzas in Ohio
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) -Maybe Cleveland Cavaliers fans can hope for cheap gas if an oil company insults All-Star LeBron James.Lines were so long Thursday at some of the 86 Papa John's stores offering a large, one-topping pizza for 23 cents th

Guillen talking himself out of a job >>
It may be too late for the White Sox to get a refund for the sensitivity training they were ordered to put manager Ozzie Guillen through two summers ago. The man seems more determined than ever to talk his way out of a job.``Those people are gonna m

Webb goes the distance to improve to 8-0 >>
Brandon Webb is talking with the Arizona Diamondbacks about a new contract and building his case for more cash at the same time.He became the first pitcher in three years to win his first eight starts, tossing his 13th career complete game to help A

Thursday's NBA Playoff Boxes >>
CLEVELAND (73)James 6-24 9-13 21, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Ilgauskas 9-12 1-2 19, West 1-5 1-2 3, Szczerbiak 4-11 4-4 13, Varejao 1-5 1-2 3, Smith 2-7 0-0 4, Gibson 0-2 2-2 2, Pavlovic 2-4 0-0 5, D.Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Dw.Jones 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 26-73 19-27 7

2008 All-NBA Teams List >>
F - Kevin Garnett, Boston (118), 612F - LeBron James, Cleveland (117), 610C - Dwight Howard, Orlando (86), 546G - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (127), 635G - Chris Paul, New Orleans (124), 629Second TeamF - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (1), 189F - Tim Duncan, S

Tribe hopes to solve its struggles at Progressive Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Beginning tonight against Toronto, the Cleveland Indians will play each of their next seven games at home. While that usually is a blessing for any team, the Indians are just 8-11 at Progressive Field. Last weekend, they w


MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

About MySportsbook.com:


MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.