02/09/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Perry had a goal and two assists to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-2 win over Los Angeles and snap the Kings' franchise- best nine-game winning streak.
Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an assist while Ryan Getzlaf added a goal for the Ducks, who have won four of their last five games. Jonas Hiller stopped 35 shots in the win, Anaheim's 10th in a row at home to equal a franchise record.
Getzlaf left the game in the second period with a sprained left ankle. An X- rays revealed no broken bones.
Oscar Moller and Anze Kopitar each had a goal for the Kings, who had not lost since a 5-1 defeat at the hands of San Jose on January 19. Jonathan Quick stopped 29 shots in the loss.
The Kings drew first blood in the game at the 12:31 mark of the first. Alexander Frolov skated down the right side and from the right circle slammed on the brakes, spun around and sent a backhand pass to the slot, where Moller backhanded the puck into the net.
The Ducks, though, got the goal back with 90 seconds left in the frame as Selanne chipped the puck into the net from a sharp angle at the left side on the power play.
Anaheim took control of the game with a pair of goals early in the second period.
The first goal came 3:27 in as Perry caught up to the puck behind the left side of the LA net and threw a pass out front where Getzlaf one-timed it home.
Less than three minutes later, Selanne blasted a slap shot from the left circle that Quick stopped, but the rebound came out front and Koivu backhanded it in.
Los Angeles got a goal back with 1:54 to play in the second as Ryan Smyth sent a pass from the low right side to the slot where Kopitar threw a hard wrister into the back of the net.
However, Anaheim got the goal back just 24 seconds later when Perry flew into the LA zone and from the right circle snapped a wrister that beat Quick cleanly.
In the third, Hiller stopped all 18 shots he faced and helped kill an LA power play in the latter stages of the game to keep the Kings from making it a one-goal game.
Game Notes
Anaheim hosts Edmonton on Wednesday...LA hosts Edmonton on Thursday...The Kings had won five straight over Anaheim, including three this season...Anaheim went 2-for-4 on the power play while Los Angeles failed on all four of its chances.
<< Lady Vols rally to beat Vandy
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelley Cain scored a career-high 19 points
and No. 5 Tennessee came back from an eight-point deficit to top Vanderbilt,
69-60, to sweep the regular season series.
Glory Johnson, Angie Bjorklund and Aly
<< Lombardi's career night propels Phoenix over road-weary Oilers
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Lombardi had a career-high five-point
night with a pair of goals and three assists, as Phoenix blew out Edmonton,
6-1, for its seventh win in eight games.
Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 33 shots for t
<< Stewart, Yip help Avs upend Blues
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists as the
Colorado Avalanche downed the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, at Pepsi Center.
Brandon Yip had two goals while Paul Stastny added a goal and an assist for
the Avalanche
<< Jayhawks capitalize on turnovers to top Texas
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Morris posted 18 points, eight rebounds
and four assists, as No. 1 Kansas overcame a poor shooting performance by
clamping down defensively on the 14th-ranked Longhorns to earn an 80-68 Big 12
victory
Mavs send Warriors to ninth straight loss; Ellis hurts knee >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Terry made 6-of-9 three-point tries,
finishing with a season-high 36 points, along with nine assists and six
rebounds, as Dallas took control in the fourth quarter in a 127-117 victory
over Go
Berdych, Dent victorious in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and unseeded
American Taylor Dent were first-round winners Monday at the $600,000 SAP Open.
Dent topped fellow countryman Alex Bogomolov Jr, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) on the indoor
hardco
Hoyas head north to battle Friars >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a statement victory, the
Georgetown Hoyas are slated to collide with the Providence Friars this evening
in a Big East Conference affair.
Georgetown had lost two of its previous three games heading
Alabama visits Kentucky in SEC action >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Alabama Crimson Tide invade Rupp Arena
this evening for an SEC clash with the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Alabama is a respectable 13-10 overall, but that record is overshadowed by a
3-6 mark versus l
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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