Powerful Penguins put streak on the line against Isles

Hockey Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins look to continue their best run since the franchise's glory days when the NHL's hottest team visits the New York Islanders this afternoon in a President's Day matinee from Nassau Coliseum.

Pittsburgh has ripped off six consecutive victories and recorded a point in 16 straight games, having gone 14-0-2 over that blazing stretch. The point streak is the club's longest since it posted 17 wins and a tie over an 18-game span during the 1992-93 campaign. The Penguins ended that season with a franchise- best 119 points.

The Penguins, who haven't lost in regulation since a 5-2 setback at Florida on January 10, maintained their winning ways with a 3-2 decision Sunday against Washington.

Evgeni Malkin snapped a 1-1 tie late in the second period with his 29th goal of the season and Maxime Talbot netted the eventual game-winner 1:10 into the third. Mark Recchi added a power-play tally and Sergei Gonchar finished with two assists to aid in the triumph.

Jocelyn Thibault stopped 29-of-31 shots for Pittsburgh, which will start up a three-game road trip this afternoon. The Penguins have won five of their last six away from home and are 14-9-5 as the visitor for the season.

The Islanders enter this key matchup in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and two points behind Montreal and Toronto, who are currently tied for the East's eighth and final playoff spot.

New York made a trade on Sunday in hopes of bettering its postseason chances, acquiring offensive-minded defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron from Edmonton in exchange for blueliner Denis Grebeshkov.

Bergeron, a four-year NHL veteran, had career-highs of 15 goals and 20 assists for the Oilers in 2005-06 and has compiled eight goals and 17 helpers in 55 games this season.

The Isles had a two-game win streak halted by New Jersey, which leads Pittsburgh by five points atop the Atlantic Division, on Saturday. Martin Brodeur made 26 saves to earn his league-leading 11th shutout of the season as the Devils came away with a 2-0 win.

The loss spoiled another strong effort in goal from Rick DiPietro, who turned aside 28-of-30 shots. The former No. 1 overall draft choice has posted a 1.59 goals against average in eight February starts.

Pittsburgh has won four of the six meetings between the divisional rivals in 2006-07 and is 7-2-1 in its last 10 encounters with New York. The Islanders have claimed two of the last three games played between the teams at Nassau Coliseum, however.

Wwwcrockfordscasinos Hockey Betting News

<< Mets ink Sandy Alomar Jr. to minor league deal
Port St. Lucie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have signed catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 40-year-old Alomar played in 27 games last season with the Los An

<< Morrison stars as Canucks edge Avs
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Morrison scored two goals and picked up an assist to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at General Motors Place. Matt Cooke added a goal and two assists for

<< Bryant leads West to easy All-Star game win
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, dished out six assists and had six steals to lead the West to an easy 153-132 win over the East in the 56th annual All-Star Game at the Thomas & Mack Center. Bryant was nam

<< Kings top Ducks in shootout
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lubomir Visnovsky scored in the sixth round of the shootout, to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. Visnovsky added a goal and an assist in regulation and

<< Sun Devils stun USC
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Pendergraph scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and the longest losing streak in Division I basketball came to an end, as Arizona State recorded its first Pac-10 win of the season, 68-58, over 22nd-ra

Predators try to end recent woes against struggling Coyotes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will try to regain possession of first place in the Central Division as they continue a homestand this evening with a matchup against the slumping Phoenix Coyotes. Nashville lost its grasp on

Flyers, Bruins look to continue good play of late >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams that have shown improved play in recent weeks will get together this evening at the Wachovia Center, where the Boston Bruins resume a long road trip with a showdown against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Jayhawks and Wildcats square off in pivotal Big 12 clash >>
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas hopes to extend its winning streak to five games as it battles long-time rival Kansas State in Big 12 Conference action from Manhattan. The fourth consecutive win for KU came on

Pitt continues to build head of steam as home stretch approaches >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers continue their quest for the Big East Conference regular season title, and they will take another step in the right direction if they can knock off the Seto

Big East foes meet in Milwaukee >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a heart-breaking loss, the Villanova Wildcats will try to help their NCAA Tournament chances with a victory over the 12th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East Conference action. O

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.



Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.