Sharks rally in third to down Blue Jackets

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Nabokov made 21 stops, and San Jose rallied in the third period to take a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at HP Pavilion.

Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski each had a goal for the Sharks, who have won the past two games.

Andrew Murray scored the lone goal while Steve Mason made 42 stops for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped their past four games.

Columbus was holding a 1-0 lead in the third period when Antoine Vermette was called for hooking, and the San Jose power play went to work.

Joe Thornton had the puck at the right side, and he shoved it out front where Heatley one-timed it home at the 7:53 mark.

Shortly after Thornton almost gave the Sharks the lead, the team did take the lead, as several shots in front saw the puck come to the right side. Pavelski grabbed it, skated around behind the net and from the left side wristed it home with 4:40 to play.

After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead just one minute into the second.

On the transition, R.J. Umberger skated down the right wing, made a move to get behind his defender and slid a backhand pass to the slot where Murray redirected it into the net.

Game Notes

San Jose hosts Nashville on Thursday...Columbus continues its three-game west coast swing in Los Angeles on Monday...The Sharks took three of four against Columbus this season...San Jose went 1-for-8 on the power play while Columbus was 0-for-4.

Wwwgamblecom Hockey Betting News

<< Montreal doubles up Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Gionta and Benoit Pouliot each had a goal and an assist in Montreal's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Tomas Plekanec and Dominic Moore also scored for the Canadiens, who bounced back from a

<< Bucks topple Cavs; James rests
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Jennings led five Milwaukee players in double figures with 25 points on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, as the Bucks took down the Cleveland Cavaliers, minus LeBron James, 92-85, at the Bradley Center.

<< Big Sky Conference Tournament Recaps
Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Jones sunk a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the sixth-seeded Portland State Vikings to a 68-65 victory over the third-seeded Montana State Bobcats in the quarter

<< Suns help Pacers finish four-game trip winless
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire poured in a game-best 30 points to go with six rebounds, as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Indiana Pacers, 113-105, at US Airways Center. Grant Hill added 22 points and eight rebo

<< UTEP clips UAB to finish season on 14-game win streak
El Paso, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Caracter scored UTEP's final six points and finished with 13 to lead the 24th ranked Miners to a 52-50 win over the UAB Blazers at Don Haskins Center in the regular-season finale for both teams. Myro

Buckeyes top Wisconsin in Big Ten semifinals >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored 29 points and went 4-of-7 from three-point range in leading 10th-ranked Ohio State to an 82-73 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. Jantel Laven

Redskins sign OL Hicks >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins bolstered their offensive line by signing veteran guard Artis Hicks on Saturday. The deal is reportedly for three years and worth as much as $9 million. Hicks has played for

Webb blows away field at ANZ Ladies Masters >>
Gold Coast, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karrie Webb, who led by one entering Sunday's final round of the ANZ Ladies Masters, fired a course-record 11-under 61 to blow away the field for a six-stroke victory. Webb completed her seventh AN

Teenager Seung-yul Noh wins Malaysian Open >>
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seung-yul Noh got up and down for birdie on the final hole Sunday to fend off K.J. Choi and win the Malaysian Open by a single stroke. The South Korean Noh shot four-under 68 and completed his

Vokoun stops 31 in win over Carolina >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun's 31 saves set the tone for Florida's 4-1 victory to snap the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game win streak at Bank Atlantic Center. Kamil Kreps scored twice, including an empty-net goal,

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.