Thrashers try to end slide in Columbus

Hockey Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will be out to halt a poorly-timed three-game losing streak in tonight's matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets from Nationwide Arena.

Atlanta had put itself in the Eastern Conference playoff mix with a 4-0-2 stretch that spanned the NHL's break for the Winter Olympics, but have fallen back a bit in the race due to the team's recent slide. The Thrashers enter this evening's play in 10th place in the East with 66 points, four behind Boston for the eighth and final postseason seed.

The Thrashers head to Columbus off back-to-back home losses plagued by a lack of offense. After being shut out by fellow Southeast Division member Carolina on Sunday, Atlanta was dealt a 2-1 defeat by Nashville Tuesday at Philips Arena thanks to a 30-save performance from Predators goaltender Dan Ellis.

Nik Antropov scored 29 seconds into the second period for the lone Atlanta goal, but the Thrashers couldn't overcome tallies by Nashville's Ryan Suter and Colin Wilson in the first.

"I thought we played pretty well," said Atlanta coach John Anderson. "When you get down two goals, you tend to take a step back from that."

The Thrashers will try to bounce back tonight against an opponent they haven't beaten since December 9, 2005. Columbus has won the last three meetings between the teams, with the most recent one a 4-3 decision in Atlanta on November 5.

In the Thrashers' last visit to Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets posted a 2-0 victory on December 26, 2007.

Columbus had lost five in a row before Tuesday's 5-2 triumph at Anaheim, in which the Jackets recorded their highest goal output in nearly two months despite being without two of their top three scorers in Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius.

Fedor Tyutin, Jakub Voracek and Antoine Vermette all stepped up in the duo's absence, with each compiling a goal and two assists on the evening. Goaltender Mathieu Garon did his part as well, stopping 36-of-38 shots to help Columbus stop its skid.

"We killed a lot of penalties and we didn't panic," Garon said. "Up 3-2 with five minutes left, earlier in the season we lost a lot of those games. Tonight we managed to keep going."

Nash, Columbus' leader with 28 goals and 57 points, sat out the contest with a lower-body injury and is uncertain to play tonight. Huselius, who's generated 17 goals and 30 assists in 60 games this season, is likely to miss a third straight outing with an injured hand.

Tonight's tilt begins a four-game homestand for the Blue Jackets. Columbus has gone 15-10-7 at Nationwide Arena thus far in 2009-10, but is 0-1-2 over its last three home tests.

Wwwlelgordo Hockey Betting News

<< Surging Irish set sights on Panthers in tournament play
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a surprising regular-season showing, the 16th-ranked and second-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers now begin their run in the Big East Tournament tonight against the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the

<< Wildcats and Golden Eagles square off in Big East Tourney
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams that have a history of playing close games meet in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament today, as the fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles battle the fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Villanova

<< Orange and Hoyas clash in Big East quarterfinals
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked and top-seeded Syracuse Orange make their much anticipated debut in the Big East Tournament today, as they lock up with the 22nd-ranked and eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the quarterfinals at

<< Mountaineers and Bearcats collide in quarterfinal action
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-seeded and seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers begin their march towards a Big East Tournament title tonight, as they face off against the 11th-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the quarterfinals at M

<< Cornhuskers battle Red Raiders in Big 12 Tournament action
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Texas A&M Aggies are the fourth-seeded team in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they will play a quarterfinal-round game against the surprising 12th-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers today.

Report: Roberts out at St. John's >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Norm Roberts is reportedly out as head coach at St. John's after six seasons with the Red Storm. The New York Post cited sources within the university as saying Roberts won't be back for the 2010-11 season.

Habs hope to stay hot against Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens continue their push for a postseason berth when the surging club continues its current homestand with tonight's bout against the Edmonton Oilers from the Bell Centre. Montreal has won its last three

Golf Tidbits: Where has Stuart Appleby's game gone? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once the top-ranked Australian in the world, Stuart Appleby has plummeted in the world rankings as his winless streak stretches into its fourth season. Appleby owns eight PGA Tour titles, including three s

Blazers hit the road to Golden State >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to keep their playoff aspirations alive, the Portland Trail Blazers will hit the road for back-to-back games starting with tonight's showdown against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena. Portland is e

Lightning hope to get on track versus Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will aim for just their second win in eight games when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Air Canada Centre. The Lightning are only five points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conf

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.