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03/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers have goaltender Michael Leighton to thank for keeping them alive in the postseason race. However, the team will be without its waiver-wire gem when it goes for its first win at Dallas in over 13 years in this evening's matchup versus the Stars.
The Flyers signed Ray Emery this past offseason to be their No. 1 netminder and also added Brian Boucher to serve as the backup. Emery, though, battled injuries throughout the season and is currently out with a hip problem and Boucher has struggled at times. That has left the bulk of the starting duties to Leighton, who was claimed off waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15.
Leighton responded by going 16-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average in 27 games with the Flyers, making his 15th straight start on Tuesday night at Nashville. The netminder did not finish the game, though, as he exited the first period with a high ankle sprain that has him day-to-day.
Boucher replaced Leighton, who is slated to have an MRI on Thursday, and gave up a goal just 20 seconds into his appearance. However, he settled down to make 24 saves and help the Flyers earn a point in a 4-3 shootout setback.
Jeff Carter scored 1:21 into the game, but the Flyers trailed 3-1 after the first period. Simon Gagne and Chris Pronger then scored 3:04 apart in the third frame to force OT before the Predators scored the lone shootout goal.
Gagne scored for the seventh time in nine games for the Flyers, who are 3-2-2 over their last seven games but fell a point back of the Montreal Canadiens for the Eastern Conference's sixth seed.
Boucher is likely to receive his first start since Dec. 21 tonight, and Tuesday's relief appearance was just his fourth since that span.
"I don't have a lot of evidence to go on as far as playing-wise in the last three months, but I've played in a couple games here since the break in some relief roles, and I feel good about myself," Boucher told the Flyers' Web site. "I anticipate doing a good job with our team continuing to push forward."
Philadelphia fell to 0-1-0 on a four-game road trip and have dropped four straight as the guest. The Flyers will try to snap that skid in Dallas, where they haven't won since Dec. 6, 1996. Philadelphia is 0-4 with a pair of ties in six trips since.
The Flyers did post a 6-3 home win over the Stars on Jan. 12, getting a goal and an assist from Gagne as well as 27 saves by Leighton. That gave the Flyers back-to-back wins over the Stars since going 0-2-0 with three ties in the previous five meetings between the clubs.
Marty Turco allowed five goals on 19 shots in the loss and was given the night off on Tuesday versus San Jose. It didn't matter who was in net, though, as the Stars exploded for a season-high goal output in an 8-2 triumph to make head coach Marc Crawford the 15th coach in NHL history to reach 500 victories.
Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow both scored a pair of goals, including a short-handed tally by each player, and had two assists apiece, while Brad Richards had a goal and two helpers. Brandon Segal scored for the fifth time in seven games since being acquired off waivers from Los Angeles and Kari Lehtonen stopped 45 shots in his second start with Dallas.
"We had some bounces go our way, and got chances early," Morrow told Dallas' Web site. "Kari gave us some confidence and made some really big saves, and we snapped the puck around pretty good. I don't know where it came from, but pretty much every scoring opportunity we were able to execute."
Dallas, which is expected to start Lehtonen again tonight, won for only the second time in eight games since the Olympic break and are seven points behind Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Stars snapped a four-game home losing streak and are 1-1-1 on a six-game homestand.
<< Surging Wild head to Nashville for key late-season clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators are riding
three-game winning streaks, but only one club is in the playoff picture.
The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena
versus the
<< Devils visit surging Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although it's highly unlikely to result in a playoff spot,
the Toronto Maple Leafs have put together one of their best stretches of the
season over the past week. They'll try to sustain that newfound momentum into
a three-gam
<< Thrashers host Sens in battle between struggling clubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling Eastern Conference inhabitants get
together for a key late-season matchup tonight at Philips Arena, where the
Atlanta Thrashers hope to strengthen their fading playoff hopes when they take
on the visiting
<< Again without Ovechkin, Capitals visit Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals hardly seemed to miss Alex
Ovechkin on Tuesday night and the Southeast Division champs will shoot for
another win this evening without the Russian superstar.
Ovechkin will complete a two-game suspen
Irish and Monarchs open tournament play in New Orleans >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thanks to a late run down the stretch, the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish earned the six seed in the South Region and will
open the NCAA Tournament with a first round meeting against the 11th-seeded
Old Dominion Mo
Hoyas and Bobcats clash in Midwest Regional >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-seeded Ohio University Bobcats are
out to continue their magical run tonight, as they lock up with the third-
seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the
Dunkin' Donuts Cen
No. 2 seed Kansas State begins tournament play against North Texas >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expecting big things in the 72nd NCAA
Tournament, the Kansas State Wildcats begin play in their 24th appearance in
the event as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green at the Ford Center in
Oklahoma City
No. 1 seed Kentucky opens NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded ETSU >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats begin play
in the 2010 NCAA Tournament with first-round clash against the 16th-seeded
East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the East Region.
The winner of this clash will take
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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