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03/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The turnstile that is the Avalanche's active roster continues to turn. Though down two players, Colorado will have Peter Forsberg on the ice tonight as it hosts the Vancouver Canucks at the Pepsi Center.
Forsberg participated in his first full-team practice on Monday since signing a one-year contract last Monday to play with Colorado through the rest of this season. Colorado then announced today that Forsberg will make his season debut in this evening's test.
The 34-year-old Forsberg spent the first nine years of his career with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, and is fourth on the club's all-time scoring list with 741 points on 216 goals and 525 assists. He split last season with Philadelphia and Nashville and has been plagued by foot and ankle problems over the last few years.
Forsberg's return should help compensate for the losses of Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos, who were both injured in Saturday's 5-2 victory over Los Angeles.
Smyth scored two goals before leaving the game on a stretcher with 28.5 ticks left in the second frame after Los Angeles defenseman Jack Johnson drove Smyth hard into the glass at the end of the Colorado bench. Smyth, who missed time earlier this year because of a fractured ankle, was moving his arms prior to being taken off the ice on a stretcher. He was transported to a local hospital where, after CT scan results on his head were negative, he was released.
Svatos, meanwhile, suffered a knee injury in the second period and did not return. Both he and Smyth are out indefinitely. Smyth has 14 goals and 19 assists in 45 games this season, while Svatos has 26 scores and 11 assists in 62 games.
Ruslan Salei posted a goal and an assist, Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette also scored and Jordan Leopold collected three assists for the Avalanche, who have won three straight for the first time since January 12-15. Jose Theodore made 23 saves to pick up the win.
Colorado, tied with Nashville and Vancouver for the final two playoff spots in the West, halted a four-game home losing streak with the win. Tonight is the second portion of a four-game residency, and the club is 19-11-2 at the Pepsi Center this year.
Vancouver has lost its last three games, including Sunday's 4-1 setback versus Chicago. Ryan Kesler had the lone tally for Vancouver, which had posted at least a point in its previous eight games (5-0-3).
Roberto Luongo turned aside 22-of-26 shots before he was lifted for Curtis Sanford in the third period. Sanford was tested just twice the rest of the way.
Both the Canucks and Avalanche are five points behind Minnesota for first place in the Northwest Division.
Vancouver had a three-game road winning streak halted in the loss to Chicago and is 15-12-5 as the visiting club this year.
Colorado has won its last three games against Vancouver, five of eight and eight of the last 13. The Avs have won four of their last six against the Canucks at the Pepsi Center.
<< Pens make a stop in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though he will still have to wait to team with Marian Hossa
for the first time, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby may be back on the ice
tonight when Pittsburgh takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning at St. Pete Times
Forum.
Crosb
<< War Pass - Can he carry his speed to glory?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's a big difference between being
undefeated in March and winning the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in
May, but War Pass has an outstanding chance to join the likes of Seattle Slew,
Smarty Jones
<< Line of Scrimmage: Legend of Favre Reaches Final Chapter
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Favre never cared much about outside
perception, and spent even less time worrying about his legacy.
Never were those facts more evident than on Monday, when Favre somewhat
unexpectedly lowered the c
<< Cards renew contracts of Wainwright, Reyes
Jupiter, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals renewed the contracts
of pitchers Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Wainwright went 14-12 with a 3.70 earned run average last
season, while Reyes was a di
Schalke is Germany's only hope >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Schalke has fallen out of the championship
race in Germany's Bundesliga, but arguably remains the most important club to
the country right now.
Schalke is the lone German team still in the Champions League
Zvonareva wins; Kirilenko loses in Bangalore >>
Bangalore, India (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva
posted a first-round win, while eighth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko went by
way of the upset Tuesday at the $600,000 Bangalore Open tennis event.
Zvonareva ca
Nadal, Djokovic, Roddick advance in Dubai >>
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French Open champion Rafael
Nadal, Australian Open titlist Novak Djokovic and former world No. 1 Andy
Roddick were among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $1.426 million Dubai
Tennis
Boyes has Blues singing happier tune >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues' future looks a lot brighter with Brad
Boyes on the roster.
Boyes has turned into an absolute steal for St. Louis since the club acquired
him from Boston in exchange for Dennis Wideman on February 27,
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.
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting