Red Wings shoot for sweep of Wild
Hockey Betting Lines
12/23/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings aim for a sweep of their home-and- home series with the Minnesota Wild when the clubs meet again this evening at the XCel Energy Center.
The Red Wings took the opener of this set with Friday's 3-1 victory, highlighted by a 34-save performance in goal by veteran Dominik Hasek.
Daniel Cleary snapped a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal midway through the second period, while Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom also lit the lamp to help Detroit win for the seventh time in nine games.
Mathieu Schneider assisted on Lidstrom's marker to extend his point-scoring streak to 12 games, the longest in the NHL this season and best by a defenseman since a 14-game run by Brian Leetch with the New York Rangers from November 2-December 1, 1996.
Schneider has two goals and 13 assists during the streak. The 37-year-old has notched an assist in each of the Wings' last nine outings.
Detroit owns a 10-6-1 road record this season and has been quite successful at the XCel Energy Center in recent years. The Red Wings are unbeaten (four wins, one tie) in their last five trips to Minnesota, including a 3-0 triumph on December 1.
In addition, Hasek is 6-0-2 (two ties) with a 1.10 goals against average lifetime against the Wild.
Stephane Veilleux had Minnesota's lone goal on Friday but left the game later on with a possible broken nose. He is unlikely to suit up tonight.
Manny Fernandez made 22 saves for the Wild in a losing effort.
Minnesota has lost five of its last six meetings with the Red Wings but has been outstanding as the home team this season. The Wild are 13-3-1 at XCel Energy Center in 2006-07 and have won four straight times as the host.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers will shoot for back-to-back road wins when the previously slumping club skates into the American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Stars. Edmonton had dropped four of its last five games before
<< Streaking 'Canes meet hot Panthers in Southeast battle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers attempt to extend a season-best three-
game win streak when they host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in the opener
of a home-and-home series between the Southeast Division foes.
The Panthers still
<< Slumping Rangers head into Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers continue what has been an up-and-down
month of December tonight in Tampa Bay, where the Lightning host the
struggling Blueshirts at St. Pete Times Forum.
The Rangers had moved into the Atlan
<< Devils, Thrashers face off in key conference showdown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle of Eastern Conference division leaders takes place
tonight at Atlanta's Philips Arena, where the Southeast-leading Thrashers host
the Atlantic frontrunners, the New Jersey Devils.
Atlanta has dominated the serie
<< Isles aim for unprecedented win over Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders will try to end their string of
futility against the Columbus Blue Jackets when the two teams face off tonight
at the Nassau Coliseum.
Columbus has never lost in seven all-time meetings with th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche return to action tonight for the first time since the Denver area was rocked by a recent snowstorm, as the well-rested club hosts the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center. Colorado's sche
Krstic's season ends with torn ACL >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey's fear became a medical
reality Saturday, when further evaluation revealed that forward/center Nenad
Krstic had in fact suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during Friday's
loss to
Inter ties history >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a 2-1 win over Atalanta on Saturday,
Serie A's first-place Internazionale equaled the all-time league record for
consecutive wins, with its 11th, in front of the home fans at the Stadio
Giusepp
Brooks agrees to extension at Kentucky >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Kentucky head football coach
Rich Brooks has agreed to a contract extension.
Brooks is in his fourth season with Kentucky, which is headed to the Music
City Bowl against Clemson on Decemb
Vikings, tackle Williams reportedly near new deal >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Williams will likely have a brand new
contract sitting under the Christmas tree, as the Minnesota Vikings and the
Pro Bowl defensive tackle are reportedly nearing a seven-year contract
extensi
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.