Stars host Sharks in important Pacific clash

Hockey Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two Pacific Division powers will collide this afternoon at the American Airlines Center, where the Dallas Stars host a San Jose Sharks club looking to stop a two-game losing streak.

San Jose currently resides in second place in the rugged Pacific with 73 points, three more than the Stars, who have played one fewer game than the Sharks. Both clubs are looking up at Anaheim, who leads the division with 78 points, in the standings.

Dallas has been the better of the two teams of late, as the Stars had won three straight games before being overtaken by powerful Detroit on Wednesday. Henrik Zetterberg scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:36 remaining in the third period and the Red Wings tacked on an empty-netter in the final seconds to come away with a 3-1 victory at the American Airlines Center.

Mike Ribeiro scored the lone goal for the Stars, who mustered just 18 shots on the evening. Mike Smith finished with 29 saves between the pipes.

Dallas wraps up a five-game homestand this afternoon and brings an 18-9-1 record as the host into this showdown.

The Sharks will be playing the fifth test of a grueling eight-game road trip. After winning the first two contests of the swing, San Jose has been shut out in back-to-back games against Nashville and Columbus.

On Friday, Fredrik Norrena turned aside all 29 shots he faced to lead the Blue Jackets to a 3-0 triumph. It marked the first time since January 26-30, 1999 that the Sharks were blanked in consecutive contests.

San Jose was without captain Patrick Marleau, who sat out with an upper body injury and is questionable to return to the lineup today. The star center, who leads the club with 29 goals, had a string of 173 straight games played come to an end.

The Sharks did make a move towards bolstering their offense on Friday, re- acquiring veteran forward Alex Korolyuk from New Jersey for a conditional third-round draft choice. The 31-year-old spent six seasons in San Jose from 1997-2004 and totaled 62 goals and 80 assists in 296 games.

Korolyuk, who has not played in the NHL since the lockout, was in his native Russia at the time of the trade and is expected to join the team later this week.

In other injury news, Dallas center Eric Lindros is expected to miss his third straight contest with a lower body injury.

The Stars have won four of the six meetings between the rivals this season, although the teams have split a pair of games in Dallas. The road team has emerged victorious in each of the last four matchups in this series.

Ganblenet Hockey Betting News

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

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