Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
10/29/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals continue a three-game road trip tonight in Toronto, where they will battle the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.
The Capitals began the quick trip on Saturday with a 4-3 setback to the Blues. Mike Green lit the lamp twice for Washington, which has not won in St. Louis since posting a 6-4 victory on October 26, 1996, a span of seven games.
Michael Nylander also scored, Alex Ovechkin had two assists and Brent Johnson allowed four goals on 18 shots for the Capitals, who fell for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Ovechkin now has two goals and five assists in his last three games and leads the Capitals with 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists).
Washington played without Chris Clark on Saturday after he was hit in the head with an Ovechkin shot on Friday. He is also questionable for tonight's game, as is forward Alexander Semin.
Semin, who signed a two-year contract extension on Saturday, has been limited to just three games this year due to an ankle injury, though he did skate against St. Louis.
Washington, which is 2-3 on the road this season, will be at the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Toronto, meanwhile, has won two in a row -- both on the road -- after defeating the Rangers, 4-1, on Saturday. New York netted the first goal of the game, but the Maple Leafs responded with three second-period goals to seize control.
Pavel Kubina picked up a goal and one assist for the Maple Leafs, who are 3-3-2 as the host this season. John Pohl, Nik Antropov and Chad Kilger also lit the lamp in the victory.
Following tonight's game, Toronto will return to the road for four straight games.
These two clubs split four games last season, though the Caps have are 2-5 with a tie in their last eight trips to Toronto.
<< College Basketball Preview - Summit League
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
OUTLOOK: The Summit League, renamed on June 1, 2007 from the Mid-Continent
Conference, celebrated its 25th year as an NCAA Division I athletics league
recently. There are 10 teams in the conference, and all a
<< College Basketball Preview - Southland Conference
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
OUTLOOK: Our pick to win the Southland Conference and reach the NCAA Tournament
is Lamar, as the Cardinals return all five starters from a team that split its
16 conference games a year ago. Don't expect the
<< College Basketball Preview - Southeastern Conference
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
OUTLOOK: Eight players from the SEC were selected in the first and second
rounds of the 2007 NBA Draft, and just four of the league's top 10 scorers from
a year ago return. For that reason, many fans and anal
<< College Basketball Preview - Pac-10 Conference
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
OUTLOOK: Arizona head coach Lute Olsen said recently that he believes that the
Pac-10 possesses seven or eight NCAA Tournament-caliber teams heading into this
new season. Olsen went on to say that the confere
Report: Yanks reiterate stance on A-Rod >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees will reportedly maintain
their firm stance against pursuing superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez in
free agency, now that he has announced his decision to opt out of the
remaini
College Basketball Preview - Big West Conference >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
OUTLOOK: With conference champion Long Beach State in rebuilding mode, there
figures to be some shuffling in the Big West Conference standings. Cal State
Fullerton lost star Bobby Brown, but the Titans have p
Liverpool's Torres to miss three weeks with injury >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool striker Fernando Torres
will miss the next three weeks after the club confirmed on Monday that he
sustained an adductor injury in the team's 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
Midfiel
Flores out as Valencia coach after Sevilla loss >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia fired head coach Quique Sanchez
Flores early Monday morning after the club's 3-0 defeat against Sevilla on
Sunday.
The team said that reserve team manager Oscar Fernandez will take over
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting