Blackhawks cool off streaking Flames

Hockey Betting Lines

01/04/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Havlat recorded a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks returned to their winning ways with a 5-2 rout of the Calgary Flames.

Playing without star forward Patrick Kane because of a high ankle sprain suffered in the Winter Classic game against Detroit, the Blackhawks managed to end their brief two-game slide. Chicago also found out Saturday that three of its players -- Kane, center Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brian Campbell -- will start in the NHL's All-Star game, to be played in Montreal, January 25.

Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp also recorded a goal and an assist, while Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien also tallied for Chicago, which has now won 10 of 12 overall. Nikolai Khabibulin made 34 saves in the win for the Blackhawks.

"It's a big two points for us. We came out hard and that's what we needed to do after dropping two games to Detroit," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said of the home-and-home setback. "We used our speed against them -- we have a lot of character and we know a lot of their players from western Canada, so we don't want to be embarrassed."

Todd Bertuzzi and Daymond Langkow scored for the Flames, who came into the game riding a five-game winning streak. Miikka Kiprusoff allowed four goals on 28 shots before being pulled after the second period in taking the loss, only Calgary's third in its last 10 road games. Curtis McElhinney stopped all seven shots he faced in the third.

"You always hope wins will carry over, (but) we'll work hard to rebound from this one, stay positive and believe the next game will bring good things," said Flames captain Jarome Iginla. "They can score goals quickly, and you have to give them a lot of credit."

The Blackhawks got on the board first. Some nifty passing from Ladd and Keith allowed Havlat to score on a wide open net just 3 1/2 minutes into the contest.

Calgary knotted the game early in the second period. A little over a minute into the frame, Bertuzzi's tip-in equalized the game. But Chicago went back in front with 5:53 left in the period, as Ladd took a loose puck in front of the net and lifted it over Kiprusoff's left shoulder for the tally.

The Blackhawks took a two-goal lead on Versteeg's shorthanded breakaway tally at the 15:26 mark of the second. Byfuglien added a power-play goal on a wrister over Kiprusoff's shoulder with just 1.1 seconds remaining in the period to make it 4-1.

Langkow added a power-play goal for the Flames at the 6:23 mark of the third, but Sharp scored an empty-net goal with 1:41 left to seal the victory.

Game Notes

Chicago leads the season series, 3-0...The Blackhawks are 12-2-4 at home, while the Flames are 10-8-1 on the road...Calgary recalled forward Jamie Lundmark of Quad City (AHL) on Sunday...Sharp's goal was his 20th of the season...Bertuzzi also had an assist...Chicago is 9-0-0 against Canadian teams this season.

Icvholdings Hockey Betting News

<< Chargers RB Tomlinson's status up in the air vs. Steelers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who sat out the entire second half of the team's wild card win over the Colts with a groin injury, is not a guarantee to play next week against the Ste

<< Chandler and Harrington lead Knicks past Celtics
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wilson Chandler dropped in a career-high 31 points with eight rebounds, while Al Harrington poured in 30 points, as the New York Knicks snapped an eight-game losing streak to Boston with a surpris

<< Tampa Bay beats Thrashers in battle for last place
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis registered two goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning climbed out of the Southeast division cellar with a 4-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. Mike Smith made 27 saves, as the Lightning mo

<< Flyin High! Eagles upset top-ranked UNC
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyrese Rice scored 25 points, and added eight assists and five rebounds, as Boston College upended top-ranked North Carolina, 85-78, dealing the Tar Heels their first loss in the ACC opener for both sc

<< Eagles set up rematch with Giants after topping Vikings
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Westbrook took a short screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown to shatter a two-point second-half deadlock with 6 1/2 minutes to play, and the Philadelphia Eagles went on to post a 26-14 victory over th

Randle helps Cal top Arizona State >>
Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerome Randle connected on 7-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc, as his 26 points and 10 assists helped the California Golden Bears pull out an 81-71 victory over the 17th- ranked

Nolan, Backstrom carry Wild over Avs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Owen Nolan tallied the only two goals of the game, and the Minnesota Wild blanked the Colorado Avalanche, 2-0, at Pepsi Center. Niklas Backstrom made 32 saves for his fourth shutout of the season

Anaheim's Hiller blanks Coyotes >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonas Hiller stopped all 29 Phoenix shots to notch his third career shutout, and the Anaheim Ducks topped the Coyotes, 2-0, at Honda Center. Chris Pronger and Bobby Ryan got the goals for Anaheim, both

Hokies simply overwhelmed by Blue Devils in second half >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Singler totaled 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead fifth-ranked Duke to a 69-44 victory against Virginia Tech in the ACC opener for both schools at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Lakers stay hot with rout of Trail Blazers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a game-high 26 points and the Lakers used a big third quarter to cruise to a 100-86 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Los Angeles' victory, coupled with the setbacks by Bo

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.