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02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not having their starting goaltender over the weekend did little to help Detroit shake off its road issues. However, a trip to Phoenix just might do the trick.
The Red Wings look to record a sweep of their season series with the Coyotes, but must do so once again tonight without All-Star Jimmy Howard in net.
The NHL leader with 32 wins, Howard suffered a broken finger versus the Canucks on Thursday that was expected to sideline the netminder for at least the rest of Detroit's five-game road trip. The Red Wings conclude the swing tonight before a meeting with the Oilers on Wednesday at home, where Detroit has won a club-record 17 straight.
Detroit, though, dipped to 2-1-1 on its swing and 15-14-1 as the guest this year with Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to Edmonton. Ty Conklin got the start in Howard's absence, but was replaced by the recently-recalled Joey MacDonald at the start of the second after allowing three goals on nine shots.
MacDonald stopped 22-of-23 shots faced the rest of the way, but yielded two goals in the shootout.
The Red Wings trailed 3-1 at the end of the first, getting a short-handed goal from Valtteri Filppula, but netted three straight goals in the third. Todd Bertuzzi had two of them to give him 301 goals in his career, but Edmonton tied the game with 39 ticks left in regulation.
"If anything, we should feel good we got the one point," Bertuzzi said. "We didn't play very well in the first period. In the second we got a little better and obviously turned it on in the third period, but we still wanted the two points. We gave ourselves a good chance to do it, just came up a little short."
Detroit's two-game win streak came to an end with only its second loss in 11 games. It still sits on top of the NHL standings with 72 points, one more than the East-leading New York Rangers.
The Red Wings have taken their first three meetings with the Coyotes this season by a 11-6 margin, winning the past two encounters in a shootout. Five of the past seven meetings between these clubs have gone past regulation, with Detroit winning four of those.
Phoenix will try to keep the game just 60 minutes long this evening as it tries to avoid its first series sweep versus Detroit since 2007-08. Howard had been in net for the three previous encounters for the Red Wings, who are 10-1-2 in their last 13 trips to the desert.
The Coyotes conclude a season-long six-game homestand with this meeting and improved to 2-2-1 on the stand with Saturday's 5-3 win over the Sharks. That victory has Phoenix tied for 11th in the Western Conference, four points back of a playoff spot.
Mike Smith made 32 saves, but did yield a score with 32 seconds left in the game to make it a one-goal contest. However, Radim Vrbata accounted for the final margin with an empty-net tally as the Coyotes bounced back from last Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Ducks with their third victory in 10 games (3-4-3).
"I thought we competed hard and did some things better than the other night," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. "We got a couple of good bounces that went our way and we were able to use that as a confidence builder and find a way to get a win."
Vrbata and Martin Hanzal finished with a goal and an assist each, while Lauri Korpikoski netted a pair of goals. Ray Whitney was one of three Phoenix skaters to notch two assists and has six points over his past four games.
Whitney is slated to skate in the 1,200th game of his career this evening.
Smith, meanwhile, set a new career high with his 19th win of the season on Saturday. In his first campaign with the Coyotes, the 29-year-old is just two appearances shy of the personal-best 42 games he played in with the Lightning in 2009-10.
<< Thunder invade Portland's Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The West's best faces a tough test tonight as Oklahoma City
resumes a five-game road trip against a Portland team that has been dominant
in Rip City.
The Thunder are an NBA-best 18-5 despite losing the opener of their
<< Nuggets target a win vs. visiting Rockets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly shaky Denver Nuggets will try to avoid a
season-high third straight loss tonight when they welcome the Houston Rockets
to Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets, who are opening up a three-game homestand, have dro
<< Giddy up: Spurs begin Rodeo Road Trip in Memphis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio opens up its annual Rodeo Road Trip tonight in
Memphis against the Grizzlies.
Since 2003, the Spurs have been forced on an extended trek for much of
February since the AT&T Center hosts the ann
<< Cousins leads Kings into New Orleans
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeMarcus Cousins hopes to build on one of his best games as
a professional when the Sacramento Kings shoot for a season-high third
straight victory tonight in the Big Easy against the New Orleans Hornets.
Cousins h
Clippers resume road trip in Orlando >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A possible trade destination for Dwight Howard is Los
Angeles with the revamped Clippers. For now, however, Howard is still property
of the Orlando Magic, who will open a three-game homestand tonight versus
the Clippers at Am
Kobe leads Lakers into Philadelphia >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The superstars keep rolling into South Philly and Los
Angeles Lakers stud Kobe Bryant is next on the A-list when he leads his team
against the 76ers tonight from Wells Fargo Center.
Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, LeBron Jame
Bulls continue lengthy road trip vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls are in the midst of a nine-game road trip
and will continue the lengthy trek tonight against the New Jersey Nets.
Chicago improved to 3-2 thus far on the road swing following Saturday's 113-90
victory at
Hawks hope to get healthy vs. Suns >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Known to be a formidable foe on their own court, the
Atlanta Hawks have stumbled a bit during a four-game homestand and look to
restore order at Philips Arena tonight versus the Phoenix Suns.
The Hawks have lost the first
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.
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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