12/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No matter who has been in goal for the Canucks, they have already handed the Red Wings a pair of defeats this year. Vancouver and Detroit wrap their season series tonight in Motown at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings have lost just eight of their first 24 games this year (16-4-4), but have had some trouble with the Canucks, who have posted a pair of overtime wins over Detroit while losing the other meeting by just one goal.
Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo split his two starts versus Detroit this year, with Curtis Sanford getting the other win. Luongo, though, is currently on injured reserve due to a strained left groin, while Sanford left Monday's 3-2 loss to Columbus because of back spasms.
Sanford made 11 saves, but had to leave prior to the second period due to his back. Cory Schneider took over in the crease and allowed three goals on 18 shots in taking the loss.
Sanford hopes to play tonight, but if he can't, Schneider, a 2004 first-round pick, will make just his second career start and third overall appearance.
Kyle Wellwood and Kevin Bieksa had the goals for Vancouver, which has now dropped three straight games. Alexander Edler had two assists.
The Canucks lead the Northwest Division by one point over both Minnesota and Calgary, and have lost the first two tests of their season-high seven-game road trip. Vancouver is 7-6-1 on the road this season and will play in Minnesota on Friday.
Despite their hiccups against the Canucks, the Red Wings are still second in the Western Conference and first in the Central Division with 36 points. They have won two of three following Monday's 2-1 victory over Anaheim.
Marian Hossa had the deciding third-period tally, while Johan Franzen also scored for Detroit. Chris Osgood had an easy night, needing to make only 15 saves for the win.
Though just 1-0-2 with a 2.95 goals against average in three starts versus the Canucks this year, Osgood has still posted a 16-4-2 mark lifetime against them with four ties and a 2.46 GAA.
Detroit, which has lost three of its last five at home versus Vancouver, plays the second portion of a four-game homestand tonight. The Red Wings are 6-2-2 at Joe Louis Arena this year.
The club will honor recent Hall of Fame inductee Igor Larionov prior to tonight's game. A member of three Stanley Cup championship-winning teams (1997, '98, 2002), "The Professor" will participate in the ceremonial puck dropping before tonight's game.
<< Hurricanes begin second Maurice era with home test versus Pens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes will begin a second era with Paul
Maurice as their head coach when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at
RBC Center.
The Hurricanes announced the coaching change on Wednesday, replacing Peter
<< Sixth-ranked Sooners host Trojans
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma Sooners have risen to the sixth
spot in the most recent poll, and they figure to be challenged at home tonight
by the USC Trojans in a non-conference clash as part of the Big 12/Pac-10
Hardwood Series.
<< Villanova hosts Houston Baptist at the Pavilion
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what appears to be a monumental mismatch,
the undefeated and 17th-ranked Villanova Wildcats will play host to the
winless Houston Baptist Huskies this evening.
Houston Baptist opened the season against a r
<< UConn battle Buffalo in upstate New York
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Connecticut Huskies are set
to play their first true road game of the season tonight, as the Buffalo Bulls
play the role of host team in this non-conference clash.
UConn has opened the season
Tellqvist, Coyotes welcome Leafs to the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding a hot hand, Coyotes' netminder Mikael Tellqvist will
get a chance to do some damage against an old club. Tellqvist will make his
second straight start tonight in Phoenix's home test against the Toronto Maple
Leafs at J
Mighty Sharks welcome Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks' incredible start to the season has
been matched just once in league history. The club looks to extend that start
tonight versus the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team it has dominated at HP
Pavilion.
The S
Habs aim to extend win streak in test against Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will shoot for their third straight
victory when they welcome the New York Rangers for tonight's battle between
Original Six teams at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens are coming off victories over Buff
Flyers, Devils renew rivalry in City of Brotherly Love >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An intense rivalry between Atlantic Division combatants is
on tap tonight in Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils to
the Wachovia Center.
The Flyers have won seven of their last nine games, while New J
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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