10/11/2008 - St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Belanger scored twice to lead Minnesota over Boston, 4-3, at Xcel Energy Center.
Marc-Andre Bergeron and Antti Miettinen also scored for the Wild, who withstood a brief Boston rally in the third period to come away with the victory in their season opener.
Niklas Backstrom was strong, making 34 stops for the win.
"For sure, it feels good to get the first one," Backstrom said. "You don't have to think about it anymore. Everybody's looking for a good start to the season. It's going to be real tight again (the Northwest Division) this year."
Marc Savard tallied twice and Phil Kessel once for the Bruins, who were coming off a season-opening 5-4 win over Colorado on Thursday.
Manny Fernandez allowed all four goals on 26 shots for the loss in his return to Minnesota. The 34-year-old spent seven seasons with the Wild before being dealt to the Bruins prior to the 2007-08 campaign.
The Wild blitzed the visitors with a three-goal burst in the second to take a 4-1 lead.
Bergeron stashed home his first of the season, a power-play score, at 4:01 as he snuck a low shot from along the goal line past Fernandez. Miettinen followed with his initial tally at 10:19, then Belanger potted his second of the night at 12:28.
Savard converted a pass from Michael Ryder with 8:09 left in regulation to come within two, then emerged from a crowd to sneak one through traffic with 1:38 to play for a 4-3 game.
Fernandez went to the bench with 44 seconds remaining, and a delay of game call on Stephane Veilleux for shooting the puck over the glass with 15.7 to go put the Bruins up two men.
Backstrom steered away Ryder's chance with 10 seconds left, and time finally ran out on the visitors.
"When you have to get three, it's tough to do in the last 8 1/2 minutes of the game," said Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman. "Minnesota's a team where it's very hard to come back from once they get any lead, let alone a three-goal lead. You can't just play the first and the third and expect to get away with it."
Boston picked up the game's first goal, early in the opening period. Patrice Bergeron's right-circle blast clanged off the crossbar and rebounded to Marco Sturm on the left side. He settled the disc and slipped it to Kessel on the right wing for a successful wrister at 8:03.
Belanger countered for Minnesota with 1:28 left in the first, putting home the rebound of Kim Johnsson's point shot for a power-play goal.
Game Notes
Minnesota won its seventh consecutive home opener...The clubs had not met since March 8, 2007, a 2-1 Minnesota victory in Boston...The Wild have won six of the last seven contests dating back to the 2001-02 season...Prior to the contest, the Bruins revealed that forward Chuck Kobasew is out indefinitely after suffering a broken leg Thursday in Denver...Bergeron's assist was his third point of the season, all without a goal...Ryder and P.J. Axelsson assisted on both of Savard's scores.
<< Arnott leads Nashville over Dallas
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Arnott recorded two power-play goals
and added an assist, while Dan Ellis picked up his first win in a Predators
sweater in Nashville's 3-1 decision over the Dallas Stars in its home opener.
Ellis
<< Franzen's late tallies help Red Wings edge Senators
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Franzen netted the game-tying and game-
winning goals in the third period and the Detroit Red Wings got past the
Ottawa Senators, 3-2, at Scotiabank Place.
Valtteri Filppula scored the other D
<< Rangers score early, hold off Flyers late to post fourth win in a row
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Zherdev picked up a goal and one
assist, and Michal Rozsival netted the game-winner as the New York Rangers
held off a furious rally to top the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3, at the Wachovia
Center.
<< Parise, Devils beat Penguins in overtime
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise's goal with 38 seconds remaining
in overtime sent New Jersey past Pittsburgh, 2-1, at Mellon Arena.
With time ticking away in the extra session, Devils forward Travis Zajac sent
a long lead pa
Dallas ties Toronto on controversial penalty kick >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Cooper converted a penalty kick in stoppage
time after a controversial call and FC Dallas earned its second straight tie on
a last-second PK, 2-2 against Toronto FC on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park.
Cooper sc
Burton a serious "Chase" contender with Lowe's victory >>
Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Burton won Saturday night's Bank of
America 500 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. The No.31 Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet driver led the final 57 laps and held off Kasey Kahne at the finish
by one second.
Romp in The Swamp: Tebow helps Florida crush LSU >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow
threw for 210 yards with two touchdown tosses to Percy Harvin, as the 11th-
ranked Florida Gators annihilated the No. 4 LSU Tigers, 51-21, in a highly
anticip
Cowboys lasso No. 3 Tigers in Missouri >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zac Robinson threw two touchdown passes and
ran for a score as the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys knocked off third-ranked
Missouri, 28-23, in a pivotal cross-divisional clash with both Big 12 and
nationa
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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To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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