Bourque highlights Calgary's win in Motown
Hockey Betting Lines
03/09/2010 - Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Bourque assisted on the tying goal early in the third period and scored the game-winner less than two minutes later, as the Calgary Flames edged the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, at Joe Louis Arena.
Jarome Iginla posted a goal and an assist for the Flames, who moved one point ahead of Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with 32 calendar days remaining in the regular season. Daymond Langkow also tallied for the Flames, who have won three straight games.
Miikka Kiprusoff made 28 saves in the victory.
Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk scored for the Red Wings, who saw their two- game win streak halted and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Detroit will also host Minnesota and Buffalo on its current three-game homestand.
Jimmy Howard allowed three goals on 31 shots in the loss.
Calgary entered the third period trailing by a goal, but scored twice within a 91-second span for a 3-2 lead.
First, at the 5:45 mark, the visitors tied it up on Iginla's 31st goal of the season. A shot by Bourque from in close near the inner rim of the lower left circle was saved, but Iginla's backhanded rebound attempt from the top of the crease was successful.
Soon after, it was Bourque's rebound -- again from the goal mouth area -- which gave Calgary the lead. A blast from the centerpoint by Robyn Regehr hit the pad of Howard before Bourque was able to put his body in the right position at the right time and the disc appeared to bounce off his skate and carom across the goal line with 12:44 remaining in regulation.
In the final minutes, Detroit had a power play for more than a minute, but Chris Higgins' empty-netter with 45 seconds to play sealed the victory.
After a scoreless opening period, the Flames grabbed a 1-0 lead 5:18 into the second on Langkow's 13th tally of the season.
Midway through the frame, Datsyuk's 20th goal knotted the contest. Datsyuk accepted a pass from Holmstrom along the right side and lit the lamp with a backhander from the lower portion of the circle that hit Kiprusoff but deflected in.
With the score tied 1-1, the Red Wings took the lead in the latter stages of the second period. After the Flames were whistled for too many men on the ice, the Wings went to work with the extra skater and passed the disc around the perimeter until Brian Rafalski held control at the right point.
Rafalski then quickly passed along the blue line to Nick Lidstrom at the centerpoint, and his slap shot was deflected into the back of the net by Holmstrom with 3:31 to play before the second intermission. Lidstrom's shot was headed wide left of the net but the deflection by Holmstrom, who was stationed near the left post, was perfectly positioned to change direction.
Game Notes
The Red Wings fell to 17-10-5 at home this season, while the Flames are now 17-9-6 on the road in 2009-10...Detroit was 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Flames were scoreless on two chances with the extra skater...Rafalski assisted on both Detroit goals.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dahntay Jones tied a season-high with 25 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame the absence of Danny Granger to beat Philadelphia, 107-96, at Conseco Fieldhouse. Granger, who is leading the Pacers at
<< North Texas takes Sun Belt championship
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh White hit the go-ahead bucket with 24
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series, as North Texas edged Troy, 66-63, for the Sun Belt Conference
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resigned as head coach.
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and stretched its winning streak to a record 72 games with a 60-32 triumph
over No
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Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton poured in 15 points and dished
out a season-high 11 assists, as the Charlotte Bobcats rallied late to down
the Miami Heat, 83-78, at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Stephen Jackson added 17 points
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Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard was a force on the interior with
22 points and 15 rebounds, as the Clippers had no answer for the big man or
the rest of the Magic in Orlando's 113-87 rout.
Jameer Nelson totaled 17 points w
Rockets notch road victory over Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola totaled 23 points with 10
rebounds, as Houston held off Washington, 96-88, at the Verizon Center.
Kevin Martin chipped in with 21 points, Aaron Brooks totaled 14 and Trevor
Ariza adde
Kulemin lifts Leafs over Bruins in overtime >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Kulemin scored with 49.7 seconds left
in overtime, as Toronto tripped up Boston in a 4-3 final from Air Canada
Centre.
Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski broke out on a 2-on-1 following an end-to-
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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