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04/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded San Jose Sharks will host the two-time defending Western Conference champions tonight, as the Detroit Red Wings visit HP Pavilion for Game 1 of the conference semifinals.
Detroit faces a quick turnaround in the opener of this best-of-series, having just finished off the Coyotes on Tuesday in Game 7 of the conference quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the Sharks have been off since Saturday, when they closed out their opening round series against Colorado in six games.
The Red Wings are a dangerous fifth seed this year, marking the first time the club is lower than a two seed since 2002. Detroit has reached the conference finals in each of the last three years. The club won it all two years ago and lost to Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Finals last spring.
San Jose, which is in the playoffs for the fifth straight season, is trying to get past the second round for the first time since losing to Calgary in the 2004 Western Conference finals.
Detroit and San Jose have met three times previously in the postseason with the Red Wings winning the last two series. The two clubs last met in the 2007 conference semifinals, with Detroit advancing in six games.
The Sharks had an excellent 27-6-8 record as the host during the regular season, while Detroit was 19-14-8 as the road club. Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Sunday in San Jose.
The Red Wings took much of the drama out of their recent decisive game, pounding the Coyotes, 6-1, to earn their first road win in a Game 7 since beating Chicago in the opening round of the 1964 playoffs. It was also Detroit's first time competing in a road Game 7 since losing to St. Louis in 1991.
Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom both scored twice to lead the Red Wings to the easy win in Phoenix.
"It was a great feeling to win a Game 7 on the road," said Lidstrom, who turned 40 years old on Wednesday. "It was a tough series. Phoenix was a great opponent, and we're very happy with the way the team responded tonight."
Brad Stuart and Todd Bertuzzi also scored while Jimmy Howard made 32 saves for the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski both posted three assists for Detroit.
Zetterberg led Detroit in the opening round with 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists), while Datsyuk was next with eight points on five goals and three assists.
Detroit's second-round weakness might rest in goal, where Howard, a Calder Trophy nominee, posted a 2.59 GAA and .919 save percentage in the opening round. The rookie was making his playoff debut versus the Coyotes.
The Sharks made it to the second round without getting a great deal of production from their top line of Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, who combined for just one goal and a minus-seven rating. While the trio also combined for nine assists in the six games -- though Heatley missed Game 3 due to a undisclosed injury -- it is a group that combined for 103 goals and 254 points in the regular season.
Luckily, Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski picked up the scoring slack with eight points each. Clowe notched seven assists, while Pavelski led the team with five goals and scored twice in Game 6, including his second game-winner of the series.
Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov also deserves some credit after posting a 1.76 goals against average, which was among the playoff leaders, and .926 save percentage in the series. He had a 2.82 GAA and .890 save percentage in last year's postseason, which ended when San Jose lost in the first round to eighth-seeded Anaheim.
Detroit went 3-0-1 in the regular season versus San Jose, which is coached by former Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan. The Red Wings won the first three meetings before a 3-2 shootout loss on Feb. 11 in which Nabokov made 50 saves.
Patrick Eaves, Zetterberg and Dan Cleary all notched two goals versus the Sharks, while Eaves, Valtteri Filppula, Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom each tied for the club lead with three points in the season series. Howard started three of the four meetings, going 2-0-1 with a 1.62 GAA and .946 save percentage.
The Sharks were limited to only six goals versus the Red Wings, three of those coming from Thornton. Nabokov started all four regular-season meetings, notching a 2.66 GAA and .925 save percentage.
<< Willis, Pavano square off at Comerica Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers' lineup has produced two vastly
different outcomes in the team's first two matchups of its three-game series
with the Minnesota Twins. Dontrelle Willis will be hoping his offense can
duplicate the results
<< Braves try to solve Wainwright, Cards in series finale
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aiming to snap their longest losing streak in nearly four
years, the Braves next face an ace they have never before beaten.
Atlanta tries to snap an eight-game losing streak this afternoon in the finale
of a four-game se
<< A's set to begin series with sliding Blue Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Duchscherer tries to continue his impressive start
to the season this evening, when the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays
open a four-game set at Rogers Centre.
Duchscherer missed all of the 2009 campaign reco
<< Suns aim to finish off Blazers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Western Conference quarterfinals series between the
Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers has proven styles not only make
fights, they decide them.
When the high-flying Suns have been able to push the basketball, the
City's Mancini defends Fulop loan >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roberto Mancini has defended Manchester
City's loan capture of Marton Fulop after claiming it would be "impossible" to
play their its remaining games with only one recognized goalkeeper.
Hungary keeper
Redskins sign WRs Galloway, Wade >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins signed veteran wide
receivers Joey Galloway and Bobby Wade on Thursday.
Galloway caught only seven passes in three games last season before he was
released by New England in Oct
Leonardo set to leave AC Milan >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Club president Silvio Berlusconi has revealed
that Leonardo will be replaced as AC Milan coach at the end of the season,
according to reports coming out of Italy.
The former Rossoneri defender turned tec
Sabres retain Ruff for 2010-11 >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres have picked up the one-
year option on head coach Lindy Ruff's contract, keeping him behind the bench
for the 2010-11 season.
Thursday's announcement comes three days after Ruff's Sabr
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)
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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