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12/21/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche conclude a four-game road trip this evening against a team they have had much road success against, as they visit the Florida Panthers and BankAtlantic Center.
The Avalanche began the eastern trek with a big win in Detroit and then lost the second test in Philadelphia before picking up a controversial 2-1 shootout win in Tampa on Thursday. Milan Hejduk was awarded the game-winning goal during the extra session after officials ruled that Lightning goaltender Mike Smith had thrown his stick in an attempted save.
Hejduk was the fourth skater in the shootout after the first three were unsuccessful, and veered to the left for a backhander. On the play, Smith moved his stick out for the poke check, gripping it near the end of the handle. As he moved to his right for the blocker save, the stick came loose and flew out of his grip.
Despite the protests of Smith and Tampa Bay head coach Rick Tocchet, the call stood and Andrew Raycroft then made a glove save on Martin St. Louis, ending the contest for an Avalanche win. While Smith was upset with the ruling, Colorado head coach Tony Granato said after the game it was the right call.
Raycroft made 37 saves through regulation and overtime for Colorado, which moved to 2-1 on the four-game trip. Paul Stastny tallied the lone regulation goal for the Avs.
The win also saw the return of Ben Guite and Darcy Tucker to the lineup. Guite played for the first time since November 8 due to a rib injury, while Tucker hadn't played since November 24 because of a knee ailment.
No. 1 netminder Peter Budaj should return to net tonight as Colorado tries to improve on its 8-9-1 road record. Budaj has never faced Florida but has allowed at least four goals in three of his last four starts.
Colorado has won four straight and seven of its last eight versus the Panthers, and have won eight straight in Sunrise. All-time, the Avalanche franchise is 11-1-0 versus the Panthers as the visiting team, with their lone loss coming on April 22, 1995 as the Quebec Nordiques.
The Panthers begin a three-game homestand today and are 6-4-2 as the host but just 1-1-2 in their last four at BankAtlantic Center.
After winning the first three games of a five-game road trip, Florida lost the final two games. That includes a 2-1 overtime loss to Carolina on Thursday.
The Hurricanes' Joe Corvo scored on a sensational individual effort with 44 seconds remaining in overtime, taking a pass from Ray Whitney at the top of the slot. He then wound up for a shot, but fell to the ice after making contact with a Florida defender. He recovered though, and skated the puck into the left circle, cutting between two defenders, before lifting a backhander past Tomas Vokoun, who made 35 saves in the tough-luck loss.
Former Carolina skater Cory Stillman registered the lone goal for Florida in his second game back after missing time due to concussion symptoms. It marked his first goal since October 24 and he has six goals and four assists in 15 games this season.
Vokoun is 7-9-1 with a tie and 3.18 goals against average lifetime versus Colorado.
<< Cavs meet hapless Thunder in Oklahoma City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder have a tough task if they
hope to build on their first win in three weeks. The Thunder will welcome the
22-4 Central Division-leading Cleveland Cavaliers to the Ford Center on
Sunday.
The Thunder
<< Flyers pay afternoon visit to Devils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will attempt to post back-to-back
wins in New Jersey for the first time since the 2001-02 season, as they visit
the Devils today at the Prudential Center.
The Flyers and Devils began their six-game
<< No. 3 Pitt plays first true road game tonight at Florida State
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers of the
Big East Conference have traveled to Tallahassee for a showdown with the
Florida State Seminoles of the ACC.
Pittsburgh will be idle for nine days after this cont
<< No. 25 Clemson opens ACC play at Miami-Florida
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ACC season begins for the 25th-ranked
Clemson Tigers and the Miami-Florida Hurricanes as the two meet in Coral
Gables tonight.
Clemson has taken full advantage of a weak non-conference schedule, as the
Bruins aim for first win in St. Louis since 1995 >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins are one of the top home teams in the NHL
this year but will close out 2008 on a five-game road trip. They begin that
swing this evening in St. Louis, where they take on the Blues at Scottrade
Center.
St.
Hawks square off with Pistons at Philips Arena >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks resume a season-long eight-game homestand
Sunday when they welcome the Detroit Pistons to Philips Arena.
The Hawks improved to 3-1 on the residency Friday when Flip Murray scored 14
of his 20 points in th
Kovalev, Canadiens host Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A three-time 30-goal scorer, Montreal's Alex Kovalev is
showing signs of breaking out of his scoring slump. Kovalev aims to light the
lamp for a fourth straight game tonight, as the Canadiens host the Carolina
Hurricanes at t
Ajax thrashes Graafschap >>
Doetinchem, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax kept pace with league-leaders
AZ Alkmaar on Sunday as Dario Cvitanich and Luis Suarez scored two goals
apiece in a 6-0 pounding of Graafschap at De Vijverberg.
Cvitanich and Miralem Su
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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