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02/09/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot New Jersey Devils will try to extend their longest winning streak of the season to six games tonight, when they host the St. Louis Blues at the Prudential Center.
The Devils, who are coming off Tuesday's controversial 1-0 regulation win over the New York Rangers, have won five straight and 10 of their last 14 games.
The surge has helped New Jersey forge a tie with Pittsburgh for third place in the Atlantic Division and the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Devils and Penguins are also just two points behind Philadelphia for second in the division and fourth in the East.
The Devils rode Martin Brodeur to a win in Tuesday's low-scoring affair in New York City. Brodeur extended his NHL record with the 117th shutout of his career, as New Jersey made a first-period goal stand up in a 1-0 win over the first-place Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
David Clarkson tallied the only goal for the Devils, who are in the midst of their longest winning streak since an eight-game run from Feb. 6-22 of last season. Zach Parise and Patrik Elias both notched assists on Clarkson's goal to extend their point streaks to six games.
The controversy came in the final minute when the Rangers appeared to tie the game with 3.5 seconds left, but Marian Gaborik crashed into Brodeur and was called for goalie interference, negating Artem Anisimov's potential equalizer.
"I thought it was the right call," Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. "Marty gets pushed into the net. Give them credit for getting it right."
Brodeur stopped 30 shots, including 15 in the final period, to secure his first shutout since blanking the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 25 of last season. Brodeur skipped practice Wednesday due to a twisted ankle suffered in the third period against the Rangers and it's unclear if he will be able to start tonight or if Johan Hedberg will get the call.
In other injury news, Devils defenseman Adam Larsson -- the fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft -- has missed the last three games with an injured back and will likely miss tonight as well. Forward Ryan Carter (hand) is also not expected to play.
New Jersey is kicking off a two-game homestand tonight and will also host Florida on Saturday. The Devils have won their last three home games and are 15-9-2 in Newark this season.
The Blues have won two of their last three games and are also coming off a road win on Tuesday. St. Louis notched a 3-1 win in Ottawa, as goaltender Brian Elliott made a successful return to Scotiabank Place.
Almost a year after the Senators traded him to the Colorado Avalanche, Elliott stopped 28 shots to help lead the Blues to victory.
"Coming in here, especially for myself, kind of a little homecoming meant a lot to me and the guys played hard for me," Elliott said.
David Perron scored twice and Chris Porter also lit the lamp for the Blues, who had lost three of four coming into Tuesday's tilt. With the win over the Sens, St. Louis moved to 10-0-2 against the Eastern Conference this season.
The Blues are still just 9-11-3 as the guest this year and are completing a three-game road trip tonight.
Former Devils forward Jason Arnott is not expected to play tonight for the Blues after sitting out the last two games with a bruised left shoulder. Matt D'Agostini is also not expected to play this evening after sustaining a blow to the head in Tuesday's game.
Tonight's tilt marks the first meeting between the Devils and Blues since Nov. 20, 2010 in St. Louis. The Blues have won two straight and three of four against New Jersey overall and have taken the last two encounters in the Garden State.
<< Bills release Corto
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have released safety Jon
Corto, who missed the entire 2011 season with a shoulder injury.
Corto, who had signed a two-year contract extension prior to the 2011
campaign, was a s
<< Cabrera-Bello fires 63 to lead by 2 in Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Cabrera-Bello fired a
nine-under 63 Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the
Dubai Desert Classic.
Cabrera-Bello, whose lone tour title was at the 2009 Aus
<< Hantuchova, King advance to Pattaya quarters
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Daniela
Hantuchova of Slovakia and American Vania King were among the second-round
winners Thursday at the Pattaya Open.
The third-seeded Hantuchova notched a 6-3,
<< Lewis, Kemp lead in LPGA opener; Tseng lurking
Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stacy Lewis and Sarah Kemp both posted
four-under 69s on Thursday as the 2012 LPGA season kicked off with the first
round of the Women's Australian Open.
This season also began much like last sea
Flames hope to stay hot in Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Needing a big two points on Wednesday night, the Calgary
Flames turned to pair of Finns to get the job done. The Flames aim to jump
into the playoff picture this evening and stop the Phoenix Coyotes' three-game
winning streak
Sens welcome Fisher back to Ottawa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators were already burned by one former
teammate this week. They hope that same thing doesn't happen this evening
against the Nashville Predators in Mike Fisher's return to Scotiabank Place.
The 31-year-old F
Canucks could be without Sedin against Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks keep finding ways to win close games,
but tonight they may have to find a way to do so without former Hart Trophy
winner Henrik Sedin.
The Minnesota Wild are hoping the possible return of their captai
Flyers seek to halt skid vs. Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to halt their longest
losing streak of the season when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in
tonight's Eastern Conference clash at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers are in the midst of an 0-2-1
Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.
Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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