Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche recently put their longest skid of the season behind them and will try to close out a four-game homestand with another victory when they face the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche had lost five straight (0-4-1) before busting out of the slump with Tuesday's 5-2 win over Chicago. Colorado needs all the wins it can get, as it enters tonight as the 12th seed in the Western Conference playoff race and just three points out of a postseason spot.
David Jones scored twice for Colorado as it took down the slumping Blackhawks on Tuesday. The victory pushed the Avalanche's record at home to 15-13-1, and after tonight's homestand finale, Colorado will play four straight and six of its next seven on the road.
Kyle Quincey, Peter Mueller and Gabriel Landeskog each added a goal for the Avs on Tuesday, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere gave up just two goals on 31 shots. The score was tied at 2-2 after 40 minutes, but Landeskog's tally put the Avalanche up for good just 38 seconds into the third period.
"Honestly, when we play teams like Chicago and Vancouver, we seem to respect them more," said Colorado center Paul Stastny, who had two assists in the game. "We move the puck quicker, we may give up a few more transitions, but we also get more chances. And when Giguere plays like he did tonight, we are fine."
Injured Avs forward Matt Duchene has been working on skating drills in recent days, but it's still unclear when the 21-year-old will be able to return to action. Duchene, who has 12 goals and 12 assists in 39 games this year, hasn't played since suffering a knee injury against Phoenix on Dec. 29.
While Colorado is knocking on the door in the Western Conference playoff race, the Hurricanes are last in the East and 10 points out of a postseason berth. Carolina has recorded a point in three straight games (2-0-1), but it's coming off Wednesday's overtime loss in Anaheim.
Corey Perry scored the game-winning goal at 2:14 of the overtime period to lift the Ducks to a 3-2 home win. Carolina held leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but wasn't able to close out Anaheim.
Tuomo Ruutu and Eric Staal lit the lamp and Cam Ward made 31 saves in defeat for the Hurricanes, who squandered a chance to secure their first three-game winning streak since October 12-18.
"Our effort was there," Staal said. "It's just unfortunate things went against us in the overtime."
Tonight marks the second stop on a three-game road trip for the 'Canes, who have a dismal 6-13-7 record as the guest this season. The swing is set to end Monday in Montreal.
Carolina has won three of the last four meetings against the Avalanche, but the Hurricanes are winless in their past nine at Colorado, going 0-6-1 with a pair of ties since. They haven't won there since picking up an overtime win as the Hartford Whalers on Feb. 9. 1996.
<< Giggs to play another year at United
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson has revealed that midfielder Ryan Giggs will return to the club for
another season after signing a one-year contract extension.
The 38-year-old Giggs m
<< Magic welcome Hawks to central Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic try to stay hot tonight when they welcome
the Atlanta Hawks to the Amway Center.
This, of course, is the first meeting between these Southeast Division rivals
since Atlanta knocked the Magic out of last
<< Mavs visit Love, Timberwolves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will have Kevin Love back in the
lineup tonight versus the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center after serving a
two-game suspension for stomping on Houston's Luis Scola during the third
quarter of Satu
<< Pacers battle Grizzlies on Beale Street
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Indiana Pacers hope to salvage the back-
end of a brief two-game road trip tonight when they square off with the
Memphis Grizzlies on Beale Street.
Indiana is coming off a 97-98 loss in Atlant
Blackhawks hope to halt fall in San Jose >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The free-falling Chicago Blackhawks will try to end their
longest losing streak in over four years when they continue a lengthy road
trip with tonight's battle against the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion.
The Blackhawks are
Stars aim for rare win in Buffalo >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars have yet to win the back end when playing
games on consecutive nights. That won't make ending their lengthy losing
streak in Buffalo any easier.
The Stars try to pick up their first road win against the Sa
Celtics head north of the border to face Raptors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics may have seen their longest winning
streak of the season come to a halt on Thursday. But, a trip north of the
border to face the Toronto Raptors could get them back on track.
Boston saw its five-game win
Lin, Knicks try to stay hot vs. Lakers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The flavor of the day in Gotham faces another tough test on
Friday, when Jeremy Lin and the Knicks play host to Kobe Bryant and the
Lakers at Madison Square Garden.
Lin has exploded from obscurity over the past wee
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
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.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting