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03/21/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami-Ohio, Denver, Wisconsin and Boston College have been selected as the top seeds for the 2010 NCAA hockey tournament.
Miami-Ohio will be the top seed in the Midwest Region and will open play on Saturday, March 27 against Alabama-Huntsville in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Bemidji State and Michigan will play in the other Midwest game on Saturday.
Denver is the top seed in the East and will play its opener on Friday, March 26 against RIT in Albany, New York. Cornell and New Hampshire will square off in the other East game on Friday.
The top seed in the West Region is Wisconsin and the Badgers will play Vermont on Friday in St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Cloud State and Northern Michigan meet in the other West contest.
Boston College will be the top seed in the Northeast Region and will tangle with Alaska-Fairbanks in the first game on Saturday in Worcester, Massachusetts. North Dakota and Yale will face each other in the second game.
The first-round winners will advance to regional championship games the following day, and those winners will play in the Frozen Four, scheduled for April 8 at Ford Field in Detroit. The championship game is slated for April 10 in Detroit.
<< Ducks battle Avs in Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to continue heading in the right
direction when they host the Colorado Avalanche tonight at Honda Center.
The Ducks have won three straight, giving the club its longest winning streak
since a sea
<< Thrashers try for home-and-home sweep in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will try to punctuate their newfound
success against the Flyers by sweeping the season series in tonight's finale
of a home-and-home set at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center.
The Thrashers were swept in
<< Coyotes visit Dallas with shot at ninth straight win
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will try to match another franchise
record tonight and also take a shot at first place in the Pacific Division
when they visit the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
The Coyotes have already set
<< Streaking Preds make a stop in St. Louis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Nashville Predators will aim for a sixth
straight victory when they visit the rival St. Louis Blues for tonight's
Central Division battle at Scottrade Center.
The recent hot streak has helped solidify Nashville
Davies tops Oosthuizen in Morocco >>
Rabat, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rhys Davies fired a seven-under 66 Sunday to
come from behind and win the Hassan II Golf Trophy.
Davies, who led after the second round, completed his first European Tour
victory at 25-under-par 266.
The
Rooney, Park lead United over Liverpool >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wayne Rooney scored his 26th EPL goal,
Ji-Sung Park added the match-winner, and Manchester United edged Liverpool 2-1
at Old Trafford on Sunday to move back into first place.
United regained the lead
Johnson, Syracuse have little trouble downing Gonzaga >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wes Johnson poured in a career-high 31 points
and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading Syracuse to an 87-65 victory over Gonzaga in
the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Andy Rautins scored 24 for Syracuse (30-4
Bruins edge Rangers in key battle for East playoff spot >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuuka Rask stopped 23 shots as the Boston Bruins
got a big win with a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.
Both teams are struggling for their playoff lives, but it was the Bruins that
came away with the tw
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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