12/03/2008 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fabian Brunnstrom's second-period tally proved to be the game-winner, as the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames, 3-1, at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
Toby Petersen and Loui Eriksson also scored for the Stars, who won consecutive games for the first time all season. Marty Turco, who entered play with a dreadful 3.61 goals-against average and crummy .868 save percentage, made 36 saves for Dallas.
"We'll take it, some guys played very well tonight," said Dallas head coach Dave Tippett. "Turco was excellent in goal. I thought Toby Petersen was excellent throughout the game, it was just a very good team win. We found a way to win in a very adverse situation with injuries and the controversy that surrounds our team today."
Before the game, the National Hockey League suspended Dallas forward Sean Avery indefinitely, pending a hearing with commissioner Gary Bettman. The renowned pest and antagonist was disciplined due to inappropriate public comments he made to the local Calgary media on Tuesday morning that did not pertain to the game.
David Moss had the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff, who has started every game this season but one, allowed two goals on 22 shots for Calgary, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
"I think we did have the opportunities," said Calgary head coach Mike Keenan. "We didn't have the next level of being sharp in terms of our execution. We missed many wide open nets so Marty had obviously a solid game stopping 36 shots but we missed 12 opportunities so we could have had a 50 shot night if we were sharp."
Dallas struck for the game's first tally. Stephane Robidas let a shot go from near the top of the right circle that was kicked out by Kiprusoff with the right pad, but Petersen crashed the front of the net and banged in the rebound 6:14 into the contest.
Calgary began the middle frame on the power play and evened the score one second after Robidas' holding penalty expired. The rugged Todd Bertuzzi drifted out from behind the cage and sent a pass that was hammered by a pinching Adrian Aucoin. Turco made the initial stop, but Moss, who was positioned atop the crease, tucked in the rebound between the goaltender's legs.
Brunnstrom gave the Stars the lead at the 7:53 mark of the second period, taking a lead pass from Trevor Daley and splitting the defense. His first offering was turned aside by Kiprusoff, but the rookie Swede continued to go to the net and, with a one-handed swipe, buried the rebound on the backhand.
Turco was unbelievable in the third period, stopping all 15 shots fired his way, and Eriksson's empty-net marker in the waning moments iced the win for Dallas.
Game Notes
Dallas has won five of seven against the Flames...Calgary is 9-4-1 at home this season...The Stars are 6-7-1 on the road...The teams combined to go scoreless in five total power-play chances, four of which were awarded to Dallas.
<< Briere returns to lineup for Flyers, but leaves against Bolts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel
Briere returned to the lineup for Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa
Bay Lightning.
Briere missed the last nine and 14 of the previous 16 ga
<< Duke dominates Purdue in top-10 matchup
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Singler had 20 points and tied a
career-high with 12 rebounds, as fourth-ranked Duke topped No. 9 Purdue,
76-60, to remain unbeaten in the history of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Jon Scheyer
<< Miller leads Sixers in OT win over Bulls
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Miller missed the game-winning three-
pointer in regulation but rebounded to score nine of his season-high 28 points
in overtime, as the Philadelphia 76ers erased a four-game slide with a
103-95
<< Billups, Nuggets crush Raptors
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 14 assists,
and the Denver Nuggets crushed the Toronto Raptors, 132-93, at the Pepsi
Center.
Carmelo Anthony added 23 points and six rebounds, while Nene had 19 points
No. 25 Marquette fends off Central Michigan >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Matthews scored 18 points to help the
25th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles defeat Central Michigan, 81-67 at the
Bradley Center.
Dominic James had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for
Thornton, Sharks crush Leafs >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Thornton registered a goal and three
assists to lead San Jose to a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the
Shark Tank.
Devin Setoguchi, Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also
Georgia Tech staying home for bowl season >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Georgia Tech won't be traveling anywhere for a
bowl game this year, instead it will remain home to play in the Chick-Fil-A
Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
The Yellow Jackets (9-3) have accepted a bid to play
Lakers aim to bounce back from first road loss vs. Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to rebound from their first
road loss of the season tonight when they resume a three-game trek against the
Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Los Angeles is coming off a tough 118-11
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.
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting