11/15/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly hot Los Angeles Kings will shoot for their fifth straight victory tonight, when they welcome the Nashville Predators to Staples Center.
The Kings have notched four wins in a row for the first time since October 19-27 of last season and picked up their last two victories with a home-and- home sweep of Dallas. The back-to-back wins over the Stars allowed the Kings to get out of the basement in the Pacific Division as they jumped past Dallas in the standings.
Los Angeles earned a pair of 3-2 wins over the Stars in the series, posting a shootout win in the home portion on Tuesday before winning in regulation two days later at American Airlines Center.
Kyle Quincey's wrister early in the second proved to be the game-winner in Thursday's game.
Michal Handzus and Jarret Stoll scored the other goals for the Kings, who haven't won five in a row since February 11-March 7, 2006. Alexander Frolov also posted two assists in the win.
Erik Ersberg made 24 saves to earn the victory to improve his record to 4-1-1 on the season. The 26-year-old Swedish netminder has allowed two goals or less in four of his five starts this season.
The Kings are 5-4-2 as the host this season and have won three straight on home ice.
The Predators have won two straight, picking up a back-to-back victories in overtime. The latest victory came Friday evening in Anaheim as Dan Hamhuis scored with 2:43 remaining in overtime to lift Nashville to a 4-3 victory at the Honda Center.
It was a rare win in Anaheim for the Predators, who snapped a six-game road losing streak against the Ducks.
J.P. Dumont, Ryan Jones and Joel Ward also scored for the Predators, who improved to 2-3-0 on their six-game road trip that ends tonight.
Shea Weber had two assists and Dan Ellis stopped 32-of-35 shots in the win.
The Predators are just 3-6-1 as the visiting team this year.
Nashville won the first of this season's four meetings with the Kings back on October 25 in the Music City. The Preds have taken three of four overall in the series and also have three wins in their last four trips to LA.
<< Slumping Stars visit Coyotes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars will try to snap a three-game losing
streak and win for just the second time in seven games when they visit the
Phoenix Coyotes for tonight's Pacific Division matchup at Jobing.com Arena.
The Stars made it
<< Blue Jackets make a stop in Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets will aim for their fifth victory
in six games when they visit the Minnesota Wild for tonight's matchup at Xcel
Energy Center.
The Blue Jackets are coming off a blowout victory in Buffalo on Friday
<< Pens host Sabres aiming for sixth straight win
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The scorching Pittsburgh Penguins will aim for a sixth
straight victory tonight, when they welcome the Buffalo Sabres for a matchup
at Mellon Arena.
The Penguins have used comebacks in their last two victories, but also bl
<< Jazz wrap up trek against surging Cavs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz will try to close out an unsuccessful road
trip on a positive note when they visit LeBron James and the streaking
Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
Utah opened the 2008-09 season with five s
Cavs' Wallace questionable versus Jazz with left knee contusion >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward/center Ben
Wallace underwent an MRI exam on Friday and the results came back negative,
but he is still listed as questionable for Saturday's game against Utah
because
Around the CFL: Improvements up front a big reason for Als success >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's a big reason for the Montreal
Alouettes' turnaround this season.
The Alouettes posted an 11-7 record this year to finish atop the East Division
standings and earn the right to host the co
South Carolina's Raley-Ross sidelined with knee sprain >>
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South Carolina guard Brandis Raley-Ross will
miss 3-to-4 weeks with a left knee sprain suffered in Friday night's victory
against Jacksonville State.
Head coach Darrin Horn, in his first season on the jo
Nirat's eagle enough for Singapore Open lead >>
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chapchai Nirat eagled the 11th hole Saturday and
moved atop the leaderboard during the suspended third round of the Singapore
Open.
Nirat is five-under on his round through 12 holes. He sits at nine-under pa
Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers SPORTS TRASH TALK
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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