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Blues play host to sliding WildHockey Betting Lines02/18/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to continue their home success when they host the sliding Minnesota Wild in today's matinee battle at Scottrade Center. The Blues have been nearly unbeatable on home ice all season long, posting an amazing 25-3-4 mark in the Gateway City. St. Louis has also gone without a regulation loss as the host since Dec. 3 and is 17-0-3 in its last 20 games on friendly ice. With a 10-12-3 record on the road this year, it's safe to say the Blues can thank their home play for their current standing in the Western Conference. St. Louis is seeded fourth in the West and is five points ahead of Nashville for that distinction. The Blues are also just five points in back of Detroit for first place in the Central Division. Following today's game, the Blues will play seven of their next eight contests on the road. The Blues turned in a dominating performance in Thursday's home test against the New York Islanders. T.J. Oshie had a goal and two assists and Brian Elliott made 26 saves to lift St. Louis to the 5-1 victory. Jason Arnott, Kevin Shattenkirk, Andy McDonald and David Perron all scored for the Blues, who rebounded nicely after Tuesday's 2-1 loss at Columbus. St. Louis scored five unanswered goals on Thursday to win for the sixth time in eight games. "We kind of kept it pretty simple," said Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. "We scored four goals on just shots and tips, doing what we do best. That's putting pucks to the net, getting in front of the goalie's eyes and banging and crashing." Blues defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo missed Thursday's game with a wrist injury and he may be able to return for today's tilt. The Wild's struggles continued Thursday night, as Minnesota lost its sixth straight game with a shootout loss against visiting Winnipeg. The six-game slide is Minnesota's second-longest skid of the year after an 0-5-3 stretch from Dec. 13-28. Minnesota, which was leading the NHL in points in early December, has gone 5-16-6 over its last 27 games to deliver a serious blow to its playoff hopes. The Wild enter tonight trailing Phoenix and Los Angeles by six points for the last postseason berths in the West. The Wild were burned by Evander Kane in Thursday's loss, as Winnipeg's star forward scored twice in regulation and added the winner in the shootout to lift the Jets to the 4-3 decision at Xcel Energy Center. Devin Setoguchi had two goals and an assist in the loss while Mikko Koivu added a goal and a helper for the Wild. Niklas Backstrom made 24 stops in the loss. "It's not fun when you lose, so it wasn't fun," said Setoguchi. "We played a better game and scored, but our game isn't run and gun." The Wild lost defenseman Mike Lundin to an undisclosed injury on Thursday and he is questionable for today's game. Minnesota is 12-13-5 as the guest this year and has lost 13 of its last 15 road games. The Wild were 2-0 against the Blues this year after the clubs met twice in St. Paul, but St. Louis recorded a 3-2 shootout victory on home ice when the teams battled on Jan. 14. Minnesota has taken six of eight overall in this series, but the Blues have won five of the last seven encounters at Scottrade Center.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have put their longest losing streak in over five years behind them and will try to record consecutive wins when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets today at Nationwide Arena. The Blackhawks were on
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTINGNCAA Football BettingMany 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 "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. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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