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12/29/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Calgary Flames resume a five-game homestand tonight, as they receive a visit from the Minnesota Wild for a Northwest Division showdown at Pengrowth Saddledome.
Tonight's matchup will feature the best and worst of the division, as the Flames are tops in the standings with 44 points -- one more than Vancouver -- thanks to wins in four of their last five games. The Wild have lost eight of their last 10 and sit last with 36 points.
Calgary will play the fourth contest of its current homestand and has notched a point in each of the first three games. After an overtime loss to Chicago on December 19, the Flames have posted back-to-back wins over Anaheim and Ottawa.
In Saturday's test with the Senators, Rene Bourque notched his first career hat trick, scoring twice in a 58-second span in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit on the way to a 6-3 victory.
Bourque completed his hat trick with a late third-period goal and with 14 goals is just two shy of the career-high 16 he netted as a rookie with Chicago in 2005-06.
Todd Bertuzzi, Andre Roy and Adrian Aucoin also scored in the win. Bertuzzi added an assist and Daymond Langkow had a pair of helpers.
Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots to help Calgary improve to 11-4-3 at home this season. Kiprusoff made 25 saves in an overtime win over the Wild on December 17 in the Flames' last road game before this homestand, while Bertuzzi had the game-winner.
Kiprusoff is 20-6-2 with a tie, three shutouts and a 1.83 goals against average in 29 career starts versus the Wild.
Calgary's win over Minnesota came in the first of six meetings between the teams this year and was its sixth in the last seven matchups in the series. The Flames have also won four straight as the host versus the Wild.
The Wild have split their last four games, dropping Sunday's test versus Chicago by a 4-1 margin. Cal Clutterbuck netted the lone goal with assists from Stephane Veilleux and Martin Skoula.
The Wild played without Marian Gaborik, who sat out the contest to rest a groin injury that has limited him to just six games this season. He has three goals and two assists on the season and might also sit out tonight as he continues to recover from his ailment.
Niklas Backstrom allowed three goals on 31 shots to take the loss. He is 4-4-3 with a 2.12 GAA in 14 games versus the Flames.
The Wild have lost five straight on the road -- all in regulation -- and haven't won as the visiting team since November 29 in Nashville. Minnesota is 7-8-0 overall on the road this year.
<< Canadiens hope to stay on a roll versus Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will aim for their fourth win in
five games when they visit the Florida Panthers for this evening's tilt at
BankAtlantic Center.
The Canadiens have recorded at least a point in four straight games by
<< Browns can Crennel
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just one day after finishing a 4-12 season, the
Cleveland Browns have fired head coach Romeo Crennel.
The Browns, who dismissed general manager Phil Savage just hours after
Cleveland's 31-0 season-endi
<< Islanders, Rangers get together at Madison Square Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Islanders will shoot for their second win this month
and the Rangers will try to avoid a fourth straight loss when the New York
teams renew their rivalry tonight at Madison Square Garden.
The Islanders are dead last in
<< Magic shoot for 8th straight win in Motor City vs. Pistons
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to extend their season high
winning streak to eight games this evening when they resume a three-game road
trip against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Orlando posted its sevent
Jackets aim to solve Kings in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets ended a lengthy scoring drought
last time they were on the ice. They will try to end a similar stretch tonight
versus the Los Angeles Kings, as the two teams meet at the Staples Center.
The Blue J
Jets' Mangini out as head coach >>
Florham Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets fired head coach
Eric Mangini on Monday during a hastily-called early-morning press conference.
The process to replace Mangini will take more time, according to executive
vice
0-fer and out: Winless Lions fire Marinelli >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli
weathered his way through a season that produced the first winless campaign
since 1976, and his anticipated fate was realized when the club fired him
as part
NC State and Rutgers meet in PapaJohn's.com Bowl >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A couple of teams playing at their highest
level duel in the 2008 Papajohns.com Bowl, as the NC State Wolfpack meet the
Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Birmingham.
After a 2-6 start to the season, including a fou
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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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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