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02/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk will seek his first goal in a New Jersey Devils uniform when his new team visits the rival Philadelphia Flyers tonight at Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series between Atlantic Division foes.
The Devils made a big trade last week to acquire Kovalchuk's services from Atlanta, but the Russian sniper has gone without a goal in his first two games with New Jersey.
Kovalchuk had two assists in his Devils' debut Friday against Toronto, but was held without a point the following night against the New York Rangers. He has 31 goals on the season and has excellent career numbers against the Flyers, posting 18 goals and 14 assists in 30 games versus Philadelphia.
The Devils have lost three of four and five out of seven, and with 74 points are just two ahead of Pittsburgh for first place in the Atlantic Division.
New Jersey lost its fourth straight road game Saturday in New York, as the Rangers notched the 3-1 victory at Madison Square Garden behind 41 saves from Henrik Lundqvist.
Dainius Zubrus lit the lamp for New Jersey and Martin Brodeur allowed three goals on 25 shots to take the loss. The lone bright spot for the Devils was left winger Patrik Elias, who returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a concussion. He picked up the lone assist on Zubrus' tally.
Despite losing seven of their last eight games on the road, New Jersey still has a strong 17-10-2 record as the host this year. The Devils will host the Flyers on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia has dropped two straight and four of its last six, a cold stretch that has not helped the Flyers' push for the playoffs. Philly has 59 points and is currently tied with the Rangers for the eighth and final postseason berth in the East.
The Flyers won the opener of a three-game road trip by beating Calgary last Monday, but were then dealt consecutive regulation losses in Edmonton and Minnesota, dropping both of those tests by one-goal margins.
Philadelphia was dealt a 2-1 loss Saturday in Minnesota, as Anton Khudobin led the Wild to victory by stopping 38-of-39 shots in his first NHL start.
"I liked the first period; we had lots of opportunities," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. "In the second period, we took penalties. We got our legs going a little bit at the end, but [the shots] didn't drop. We need to count them."
Daniel Carcillo notched the lone score for the Flyers, while Michael Leighton took the loss despite making 28 saves. Leighton was starting in place of Ray Emery, who is day-to-day with a hip injury. Emery, who is 5-3-2 in 10 career games against the Devils, is questionable for tonight.
The Flyers made a minor trade on Saturday, dealing defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft to Detroit for forward Ville Leino. It's not clear when Leino, who had four goals and three assists in 42 games with the Red Wings this season, will make his Flyers debut.
Philadelphia has won seven of its last nine home games and is 16-11-2 as the host this season.
The Flyers have taken two of three from New Jersey so far this season and own six wins in the last 10 encounters between these rivals. The Devils have lost two straight and four of their last five tests in the City of Brotherly Love.
<< Giguere seeks to continue hot streak as Leafs host Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs will test themselves
tonight against the top team in the Western Conference, as they host the San
Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs ended January on a six-game losing streak
<< Ramblers try to cool off red-hot Bulldogs
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their
run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola
Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season
<< Jayhawks and Longhorns duke it out in Austin
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Big 12 heavyweights collide in Austin
this evening, as the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks take on the ninth-ranked Texas
Longhorns from the Frank Erwin Center.
Bill Self's Jayhawks sit atop the Big 12 stan
<< Villanova visits West Virginia in Big East showdown
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off their first Big East Conference
loss of the season, the Villanova Wildcats will attempt to get back on track
in Morgantown against the West Virginia Mountaineers this evening.
Villanova dropped a 1
Coyotes hope to rebound against visiting Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling in their last trip to the ice, the Phoenix
Coyotes will be seeking a bounce-back performance when they return to
Jobing.com Arena tonight to take on an Edmonton Oilers squad trying to avoid
setting a franchise
Bolton's Cahill could miss remainder of season >>
Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton central defender Gary Cahill is set
to miss the rest of the season due to a blot clot in his arm.
The 24-year-old, who is on the fringes of the England senior squad, missed the
weekend draw with Ful
Stoke's Fuller arrested >>
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City have confirmed that
striker Ricardo Fuller was arrested on suspicion of assault following an
incident at a nightclub.
The 30-year-old Jamaica international was detained in
Wigan releases Edman from contract >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan have released defender Erik Edman from
his contract.
Edman, 31, was out of contract at the DW Stadium at the end of the current
season but the two parties have reached a mutual agreement to term
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
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