Canucks try for 10th straight home win vs. Stars
Hockey Betting Lines
03/17/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks will be shooting for a franchise record for consecutive home victories when the scorching club welcomes the Dallas Stars to GM Place this evening.
Vancouver has ripped off nine straight wins on home ice following Sunday's 4-2 decision over Colorado, matching the team's longest such streak since a nine- game run from November 6-December 9, 1992. Ironically, the Canucks had lost nine in a row at home prior to this current tear.
The Canucks have done plenty of winning on the road as well in recent weeks. Since ending the month of January on an eight-game losing streak, Vancouver has produced an outstanding 13-3-1 overall mark and now stands just two points in back of Chicago for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Vancouver jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Avalanche on first-period goals from Kyle Wellwood, Alex Burrows and Taylor Pyatt, while Alexander Edler put the finishing touches on the team's latest win with a late power-play score.
Ryan Kesler racked up three assists to help the Canucks snap a string of eight straight losses to Colorado.
The Stars also appear to have hit their stride after a poor lengthy stretch. After losing eight times in a 10-game span from February 21-March 10, Dallas won both tests of a brief two-game homestand heading into tonight's clash.
Dallas began the brief residency with a 3-2 triumph over Carolina on Thursday, then came through with a much-needed overtime win over Minnesota two nights later. Nicklas Grossman scored the game-winning goal midway through the extra period in a 3-2 victory that kept the Stars among the top eight teams in the West.
Steve Ott had both regulation goals for Dallas and Loui Eriksson assisted on all three of the Stars' tallies. Mike Ribeiro had a pair of helpers on the night and now has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) during a seven-game scoring streak.
Dallas is currently holding down the West's eighth and final playoff spot with 74 points, one better than ninth-place Edmonton, as it enters a crucial road trip against three of the conference's top teams. Following tonight's showdown, the Stars visit Northwest Division leader Calgary before taking on Pacific front-runner San Jose on Saturday.
The Stars have gotten the better of the Canucks as of late, with Dallas winning four of the last five matchups in the series and taking both previous encounters between the teams this season. That includes a 3-2 shootout decision in Vancouver on January 4.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A recent surge has the St. Louis Blues right back in the playoff mix, while the Edmonton Oilers have been playing themselves out of the race as of late. The two postseason contenders face off in a key clash tonight at Rexall
<< Wild hope to get on track at home versus Avs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild hope a return home and a visit from one
of the Western Conference's bottom feeders will enable them to break out of a
horrendous recent slump. The club will try to get back on track in tonight's
matchup wit
<< Flyers aim for first win in Detroit in over 20 years
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting an important road trip off to an undesired
start, the Philadelphia Flyers will attempt to rebound in a place where they
haven't tasted victory in more than 20 years.
Philadelphia gets a chance to end its exte
<< NCAA Tournament begins with Eagles and Hornets in Dayton
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2009 NCAA Tournament gets under way this
evening in Dayton, as the Morehead State Eagles and Alabama State Hornets meet
in the opening round from UD Arena. The winner of this game will take on the
top overall s
<< Bulls welcome Celtics to the Second City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics will try to continue their recent
dominance over the Chicago Bulls when the two clubs square off Tuesday night
at the United Center.
Boston also hopes to secure its second consecutive Atlantic Division t
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a playoff spot now wrapped up, the San Jose Sharks can now turn their attention to gaining the Western Conference's top seed. The Pacific Division leaders begin that late-season quest with tonight's road tilt against a P
Brodeur goes for milestone win in Devils-Blackhawks tilt >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur got to tie Patrick Roy's all-time wins
record in his hometown. Now, he will get a chance to set a new mark in front
of the fans that have supported him for 16 seasons.
Brodeur gets his first shot at career w
Rangers, Habs to battle for playoff position >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Canadiens fans had a reason to cheer the last time
their team took the ice, but it didn't have anything to do with the home
club's play. Montreal will try to avoid wrapping up a four-game homestand with
three straigh
Sabres hoping to end struggles in Ottawa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres will attempt to halt a five-game road
losing streak in a city where they haven't had much luck as of late. Buffalo
wraps its season series with the Ottawa Senators tonight at Scotiabank Place.
Buffalo ha
Penguins visit Thrashers in clash of surging clubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Pittsburgh Penguins aim for a series sweep of
the Atlanta Thrashers, who are on the longest winning streak in franchise
history, when the two clubs meet tonight at Mellon Arena.
Pittsburgh has won four straight
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
Field 100-1
About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
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.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.