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03/14/2009 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin scored in the shootout, and the Washington Capitals edged division-rival Carolina, 5-4, at Verizon Center.
Semin flipped a forehand shot above Cam Ward's glove for the first goal for Washington, and Ovechkin sealed the win with a wrister through the goaltender's legs.
Semin finished with a goal and three assists in regulation for the Capitals, who have won three straight and snapped a four-game home losing streak. Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and an assist. Jose Theodore made 28 saves in the win.
Eric Staal had a goal and two assist for Carolina, which has lost three straight since a four-game win streak. Ray Whitney and Erik Cole both notched a goal and an assist, while Niclas Wallin also scored in the loss. Ward stopped 27-of-31 shots in a losing effort.
Carolina struck first. Cole got his second goal since returning to the Hurricanes in a trade with Edmonton, firing a shot from the left circle 9:53 into the contest.
The Caps quickly answered, as Semin fed Green in the slot for an easy one- timer that beat Ward to the glove side just over a minute later. Ovechkin stuffed in a rebound off a Green shot to make it 2-1 while on the power play at 18:01.
Another power-play goal, this one by Semin on a spin-o-rama in the slot, put the Capitals ahead by two at the 1:31 mark of the second.
Staal pulled the Hurricanes to within one on his 33rd of the year 5:57 into the middle frame, but Backstrom scored Washington's third power-play goal to at 12:27.
With just eight seconds left in the second, Whitney made it a 4-3 game with his 23rd goal of the season.
Carolina pulled even midway through the third. Wallin let fly a slap shot from the point, and the puck snuck inside the near post at 10:47. Neither team scored in the final minutes, and the game went to overtime and eventually a shootout, after the Hurricanes squandered a power play opportunity in the extra session.
Game Notes
Ovechkin is 2-for-6 in shootout attempts this season...Washington leads the season series, 3-2...The Caps will now embark on a five-game road trip against Atlanta, Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina and Toronto.
<< One more to No. 1: Brodeur ties Roy's win record
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appropriately enough, Martin Brodeur posted
win No. 551 of his illustrious career in Montreal on Saturday.
In his hometown, Brodeur notched the victory with a 22-save performance
to help his Devils
<< Morgan State captures MEAC
Winstom-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reggie Holmes scored 20 points and hauled
in six rebounds to lead Morgan State to the NCAA tourney with an 83-69 victory
over Norfolk State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference final at the
Lawrenc
<< Christmas leads Temple to second straight A-10 title
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dionte Christmas posted a game-high 29
points, including seven three-pointers, as Temple locked up a trip to the NCAA
Tournament with a 69-64 victory over Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 final from
Boardwa
<< Pedroia out of WBC, Roberts in
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was
taken off the American roster in the World Baseball Classic with a left
oblique strain.
Pedroia said he felt a tweak in batting practice before Team
Thrashers win fifth straight, top Sabres in shootout >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd White tied the game with 3.5 seconds left
in regulation and Brett Sterling notched the lone goal of the shootout as
Atlanta edged Buffalo, 4-3, at HSBC Arena.
After Kari Lehtonen stopped Thomas Van
Why can't this be Love? Rookie leads T'Wolves past Bobcats >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love recorded a team-high 22 points
while grabbing seven rebounds to pace the Timberwolves to a 108-100 win over
the Bobcats.
Rodney Carney and Ryan Gomes each netted 21 points, while Craig Smith
One more to No. 1: Brodeur ties Roy's wins record >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appropriately enough, Martin Brodeur posted
win No. 551 of his illustrious career in Montreal on Saturday.
In his hometown, Brodeur notched the victory with a 22-save performance
to help his New Je
Stamkos gets SO winner as Bolts down Panthers >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Stamkos scored the lone goal of the
shootout and added an assist in regulation as the Tampa Bay Lightning edged
the Florida Panthers, 4-3, at BankAtlantic Center.
After a spirited, but scoreles
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
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