Football Betting

Pacioretty's hat trick lifts Canadiens over Islanders

Hockey Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Pacioretty netted his first career hat trick, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Scott Gomez also scored -- his first goal since February 5, 2011 -- and Carey Price made 31 saves for the Canadiens, who have won three straight games.

Matt Moulson and Mark Streit found the back of the net and Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves in defeat for the Islanders, who failed to carry momentum from a 1-0 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.


<< Hartnell helps Flyers edge Leafs
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers edged the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3, at Wells Fargo Center. Maxime Talbot, Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn also lit the lamp for

<< No. 8 Maryland breezes past Clemson
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lynetta Kizer led six players in double figures with 18 points, as No. 8 Maryland breezed past Clemson, 91-61, on Thursday. Alicia DeVaughn added 15 points while Tianna Hawkins and Alyssa Thomas both had 14

<< Gray, Duke holds off Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea Gray had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead No. 5 Duke past Boston College on Thursday. Elizabeth Williams added 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks for Duke (20-3, 11-0 AC

<< Mississippi State takes care of Ole Miss
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arnett Moultrie scored 18 points, Dee Bost had 15 points and 13 assists and No. 20 Mississippi State led all the way in a 70-60 win over Ole Miss on Thursday. Renardo Sidney added 14 points and Rodney

<< Nowitzki, Pierce highlight All-Star reserves
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks may not be matching their championship-caliber performance from last season, but Dirk Nowitzki is still playing well enough to make the Western Conference All-Star team. Nowitzki, 3

Badgers escape Minnesota with OT win >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Taylor shot 5-of-9 from three- point range and dropped a game-high 27 points as No. 21 Wisconsin held off Minnesota, 68-61, in overtime at Williams Arena on Thursday. Ryan Evans contribute

Blues down Devils in shootout >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Blues a 4-3 victory over the Devils at Prudential Center. Brian Elliot relieved an ineffective Jaroslav Halak in the second period and stopped all

Jets rally late, beat Capitals in shootout >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Little scored the game-winner in a shootout, as the Jets used a late surge to earn a 3-2 comeback win over the Capitals on Thursday. Trailing 2-0 with less than three minutes to play, Winnip

Clemmensen, Panthers beat Kings for first time in almost a decade >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Clemmensen made 22 saves as the Florida Panthers earned their first win over the Los Angeles Kings in nearly 10 years with a 3-1 victory on Thursday. Sean Bergenheim, Mike Santorelli and Matt Bradl

Stars jump on Jackets early, hold on >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Benn opened and closed the scoring, including an empty-netter in the final second, as Dallas downed Columbus, 4-2. Stephane Robidas' goal was the final of three in the first 21-plus minutes, and

NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

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.