Flyers halt 10-game slide with win against Lightning
Hockey Betting Lines
12/29/2006 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne scored twice and Robert Esche made a career-high 42 saves, as the Philadelphia Flyers halted their franchise- record losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum.
Esche was making his first start since November 15 because of a groin injury. His return was timely, as Antero Niittymaki did not suit up because of a slight hip strain.
Sami Kapanen and Alexei Zhitnik also scored while Peter Forsberg had three assists for the Flyers, who had dropped their last 10 games.
Martin St. Louis, Ruslan Fedotenko and Filip Kuba each had a goal for Tampa Bay, which has lost two in a row. Johan Holmqvist stopped 22 shots in defeat.
Zhitnik netted his first goal as a Flyer 4:01 into the contest to give his team the early lead. With Philadelphia on the power play, Zhitnik took a feed from Forsberg in the left circle and released a wrister that found room between Holmqvist and the near-side post.
Tampa evened the contest midway through the opening stanza, as St. Louis cashed in on a 5-on-3 power play with an easy goal from the doorstep.
The Flyers reclaimed the advantage with 3:19 left in the first, though, as Gagne one-timed a Knuble offering from the left circle that beat Holmqvist.
Gagne lit the lamp 9:30 into the second stanza as well to make it a 3-1 game, and Kapanen struck with a breakaway marker in the waning seconds of the middle period to push the lead to three goals. Jeff Carter set up the Kapanen goal with a nice outlet pass, allowing the right winger to break into the zone unimpeded before wristing a shot past Holmqvist with 18 ticks to play.
Kuba's one-timer from the high slot 1:18 into the third brought Tampa within two, and Fedotenko scored on a rebound putback with 5:58 remaining to put the pressure on the road team.
Esche stood tall from there to preserve the win, as the Flyers were outshot 15-6 in the third period.
Game Notes
Tampa Bay had won 10 straight and 11 of the last 12 regular-season meetings against the Flyers...Prior to this win, the Flyers hadn't posted a victory since November 30...Philadelphia went 1-for-2 on the man-advantage, while Tampa Bay lit the lamp on 2-of-6 power play opportunities.
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Douglas-Roberts poured in 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the 22nd-ranked Memphis Tigers past the Lamar Cardinals, 87-62, at FedExForum. Robert Dozier added 13 points and eight rebound
<< Miller leads Sabres past Canes
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Miller made 29 saves, leading the Buffalo
Sabres to a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at HSBC Arena.
Jason Pominville, Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek and Ales Kotalik scored for
Buffalo, winners in
<< Tigers down Bulldogs to remain unbeaten
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Booker scored 14 points and grabbed
seven rebounds as the 25th-ranked Clemson Tigers kept their perfect record
intact with a 75-60 defeat of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Booker went 4-for-4 from the f
<< Vols rout Tennessee Tech
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - JuJuan Smith scored a career-high 23 points
to lead the 21st-ranked Tennessee Volunteers to a 101-77 rout of the Tennessee
Tech Golden Eagle at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Chris Lofton netted 14 while Ryan Chil
<< No. 2 North Carolina steamrolls over Rutgers
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandan Wright had 19 points and pulled
down seven rebounds as the second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels cruised to
an 87-48 victory over Rutgers at Smith Center.
Freshman Wayne Ellington went 5-of-6
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Cleary had a hat trick, tallying the game-winning goal with 5:19 remaining in regulation as the Detroit Red Wings needed a late rally to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-4, in a Central Divisio
Ninth-ranked Jayhawks leave Titans feeling queasy >>
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mario Chalmers scored 22 points on 7-of-12
shooting, as the ninth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks bested the Detroit Titans,
63-43, at Allen Fieldhouse.
Brandon Rush added nine points and five rebounds while
Parker, Spurs stomp Jazz >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker scored 22 points, as the San
Antonio Spurs pounded Utah, 106-83, for their 15th straight win over the Jazz
at the AT&T Center.
Tim Duncan posted 20 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs,
Notre Dame crushes Rider >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Kurz recorded a game-high 23 points to
go with eight rebounds, as 19th-ranked Notre Dame crushed Rider, 101-51 at
Joyce Center.
Kyle McAlarney added 21, including 7-of-9 from beyond the arc for the
Rams-Vikings Tilt Could Have Playoff Implications >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams still have a shot at a playoff berth,
and will put their chances on the line Sunday when they pay a visit to the
Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome.
The Rams have won two in a row, and defeated the Washi
MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
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.