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
02/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling teams meet this evening in the nation's capital, where the Washington Capitals host the San Jose Sharks at the Verizon Center.
The Capitals have dropped four games in a row, while the Sharks come into the matchup having lost their last three contests. San Jose hasn't lost four in a row since December 22-28, 2005.
Washington was in action Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens posted a 5-3 victory, as Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder netted two goals apiece.
Jamie Heward finished with a goal and two assists while Brent Johnson came up with 27 saves for Washington, which is 12 points behind Carolina for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.
Washington played its third straight game without starting goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who is sidelined indefinitely with a torn MCL in his left knee.
Caps star forward Alexander Ovechkin, who leads his team in goals (34) and assists (38), was held without a point once again in Tuesday's contest. The 21-year-old Russian has been scoreless in three straight games and has just one goal and one assist over his last eight contests.
Starting this evening, the Caps will play five of their next six games on home ice. Washington is 14-12-4 as the host this year.
Meanwhile, the Sharks haven't played since losing an important test in Dallas on Sunday. Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen both scored a pair of goals to lift the Stars to a 5-2 triumph at the American Airlines Center.
The Sharks and Stars are tied for fifth place in the Western Conference standings with 73 points apiece. The teams are also seven points behind Anaheim for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
Mark Bell and Mike Grier scored Sunday for the Sharks, while Evgeni Nabokov stopped 16 shots.
San Jose captain and leading scorer Patrick Marleau is questionable for tonight's game after missing Tuesday's practice with an illness. Marleau has 29 goals and 35 assists on the season.
The Sharks are expected to have forward Curtis Brown back in the lineup tonight after he missed the last two games due to the birth of his third son. Brown has seven goals and eight assists this year and is key component of San Jose's penalty-killing unit.
Tonight marks the sixth test of an eight-game road trip for San Jose, which is 2-3-0 so far on the swing and 18-11-0 as the visiting club this season.
This evening's game between the Sharks and Capitals marks the only time this season the clubs will meet. San Jose has dominated the series in recent years, winning nine straight overall matchups and five in a row at Washington.
<< Kings edge Celts
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin scored 22 points as the Kings
held off a late Boston rally to beat the Celtics, 104-101, and continued their
domination in the series.
Ron Artest contributed 18 points, eight rebounds a
<< Sedin leads Canucks past Ducks in OT
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin scored 2:19 into overtime, as the
Vancouver Canucks won their fifth straight game with a 3-2 decision over the
Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
Kevin Bieksa and Markus Naslund also scored fo
<< Happy Returns: Nash leads Phoenix over Clips
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash scored 13 points and dished out
12 assists before spending a large chunk of the second half enjoying his
return to the lineup from the bench, as Phoenix cruised from the outset in a
115-90
<< Billups leads Pistons past Bucks
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 19 points, as the
Detroit Pistons held on for an 84-83 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee's Mo Williams missed a driving layup in the final seconds of
regulation, and
Red-hot Cavs take on Hurricanes in Sunshine State >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A set of teams at completely different
ends of the ACC standings collide at the BankUnited Center tonight, as
the 24th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers take on the Miami-Florida Hurricanes.
The C
Tide rolls into Knoxville >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and
Tennessee Volunteers will do battle in an SEC contest tonight in
Knoxville.
Alabama carried a two-game losing skid into Saturday's game a
Hoyas take on Bearcats in the Queen City >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas are
one of the nation's hottest teams, and they will attempt to extend
their winning streak to 10 games as they take on the Cincinnati Bearcats
in a
Tar Heels and Wolfpack meet in Chapel Hill >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar
Heels will have revenge on their minds as they host the NC State
Wolfpack tonight in an ACC clash.
These two teams met on February 3rd, and NC Sta
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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