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02/21/2007 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder netted two goals each to guide the Montreal Canadiens past the Washington Capitals, 5-3, at the Bell Centre.
Garth Murray added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds and Jaroslav Halak picked up his second win in as many career starts in net by turning away 15 shots for the Canadiens, who have now won two in a row since losing six straight. This is the first time in a month that the Canadiens have posted back-to-back wins.
Jamie Heward finished with a goal and two assists while Brent Johnson came up with 27 saves for Washington, which has dropped four straight.
Montreal stormed out of the gates to assume a 3-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
All three were power-play markers, including Higgins' goal from the right side of the net 7:33 into the contest to open the scoring. Ryder made it a two- goal game with 5:12 left in the first, as his one-timer navigated through traffic in front before beating Johnson.
Less than a minute later, Higgins redirected a Saku Koivu feed in front to finish the surge.
Washington, though, opened the second frame with a pair of goals to cut the deficit to one. The first came at the 2:06 mark on a hard slap shot from Heward that deflected off Brian Sutherby and in. Heward then made it 3-2 with another slapper 30 ticks later, this one caroming off a Montreal player before slipping into the back of the net.
The Capitals were in good position to tie the game after Montreal was whistled for a double-minor with 4:27 left in the second period. Ryder, though, broke out on a short-handed charge, split a pair of defenders and then fired a snap shot past Johnson to build a 4-2 edge.
Alexander Semin again made it a one-goal game with only 34 seconds left in the second with a pretty flip shot over the shoulder of Halak.
Halak and company, however, pitched a shutout from there and Murray punched in an empty-net tally in the final minute to seal the win.
Game Notes
Murray hadn't scored in his last 43 games...Halak made 31 saves in his NHL debut Sunday to guide Montreal to a 3-2 win in Columbus. He was called into action after Cristobal Huet suffered a hamstring tear in Montreal's 5-2 loss at New Jersey on Wednesday. Huet had surgery to repair the tear on Sunday and will be out indefinitely...This marked the end of a three-game road trip for Washington, which is just 9-16-5 away from D.C. this year and has lost seven straight and 13 of its last 14 as the visitor.
<< Crawford, Curry propel Knicks over Magic
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry each scored 20
points to lead the New York Knicks over the Orlando Magic, 100-94, at Madison
Square Garden.
Quentin Richardson added 15 points and David Lee had 14 points and
<< No. 18 Bowling Green rolls over Kent State
Kent, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amber Flynn poured in 21 points and led six
players in double figures, as 18th-ranked Bowling Green defeated Kent State,
89-66, at the M.A.C. Center.
Kate Achter scored 14 points, Carin Horne chipped
<< Rutgers women rout Providence
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matee Ajavon scored 23 points and Epiphanny
Prince added 14 to lead 21st-ranked Rutgers to a 69-34 pounding of Providence.
Heather Zurich tallied 10 points for the Scarlet Knights (18-7, 11-3 Big
East
<< Arenas leads Wizards over T'Wolves
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Arenas poured in 38 points, and
Washington never trailed in a 112-100 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Arenas was a miserable 1-of-8 from three-point range, but made up for the
shor
Senators shoot past Oilers >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dean McAmmond was credited with the game-winning
goal in the shootout and the Ottawa Senators escaped a late rally to defeat
the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, at Scotiabank Place.
Dany Heatley, Mike Fisher and Dan
Lightning top Panthers in shootout >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin St. Louis scored the game-winner in the
shootout and added a goal in regulation to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a
3-2 win over the Florida Panthers at St. Pete Times Forum.
With the shootout tied
Koivu lifts Wild over Stars in shootout >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu scored the lone goal of the
shootout, as the Minnesota Wild nipped the Dallas Stars, 2-1, at XCel Energy
Center.
Brian Rolston scored in regulation for the Wild, who won for the fourth t
Parker and Spurs knock off Denver >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker led a balanced San Antonio
attack with 17 points, as the Spurs routed the Denver Nuggets, 95-80, for
their third straight win.
Manu Ginobili added 14 points and Tim Duncan scored 12 f
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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