Flames try to burn Blues one more time
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03/12/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will try to rebound from a rare home loss this evening, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues to the Saddledome.
The Flames lead the NHL with 27 home wins this season, but were handed an overtime setback by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
Dan Boyle scored the game-winner with 2:01 left in the extra session to give Tampa Bay the 3-2 win over the Flames in the first meeting between the teams since the Bolts earned a home victory over Calgary in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. That cup-clinching triumph also came in overtime.
Tampa was skating with a 5-on-3 advantage in the extra frame on Saturday, when Vincent Lecavalier passed the puck across the goal mouth to Boyle, who tapped it in for the victory.
Jeff Friesen and Craig Conroy each scored a goal for the Flames, who have dropped two straight after a five-game winning streak. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots for Calgary, which sits in eight place in the Western Conference with 82 points.
Saturday's loss lowered Calgary's home record this year to 27-6-2.
Meanwhile, the Blues have lost three of their last four games and are coming off Saturday's home setback to the Montreal Canadiens. St. Louis rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the game on Glen Metropolit's tally late in the third, but Alexei Kovalev answered with a score less than a minute later and the Canadiens held on to beat the Blues, 4-3.
Doug Weight and David Backes each scored for the Blues, who are 14 points behind Calgary for the final postseason berth in the Western Conference.
Blues defenseman Bryce Salvador suffered a fractured clavicle in Saturday's game and will miss the remainder of the season.
This evening marks the start of a three-game road trip for the Blues. St. Louis is just 12-12-7 as the visiting team this year and has been dealt losses in four of its last six tilts away from the Gateway City.
Tonight's game is the final meeting between Calgary and St. Louis this year, and the Flames are aiming for a four-game series sweep of the Blues. All told, Calgary has taken six straight and eight of the last nine contests against the Blues.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - That last thing the Atlanta Hawks expected to happen when Joe Johnson became sidelined with a calf injury was for the club to put together a winning streak. Yet, that is exactly what has happened since Johnson suffered a
<< Thrashers aim to rebound against Capitals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers continue their quest for the first
playoff berth in team history, as they welcome the dismal Washington Capitals
for tonight's matchup at Philips Arena.
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president/head coach Isiah Thomas a contract extension.
The New York Post is reporting that the team's owner, James Dolan, will
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108-72 pounding of Los Angeles, sending the Lakers to their worst home defeat
in franchi
<< Kansas, UCLA lead West; Cat fight; Duke done?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Making their 18th straight appearance in
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with their play all season, led by the guard play of Brandon Rush and Mario
Chalmer
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One team will get their wish of ending a lengthy losing streak tonight, when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. The Oilers have dropped seven straight games, six of which have come since tr
Coyotes host Flyers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams playing for pride meet tonight in the
desert, as the Phoenix Coyotes host the Philadelphia Flyers at Jobing.com
Arena.
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in the en
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets try to put the brakes on a five-game
losing streak when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at the FedExForum.
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Bucks welcome Raptors to Bradley Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors hit the
road this evening to take on the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
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Former football star Ladd dies >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Legendary football star Ernie Ladd passed
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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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